Star Wars: The Risen Darkness
by Jou Jou the Magnificent
Summary: ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE CONTENT. As the Clone War rages on, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker finds himself at odds with the Jedi Order more and more. He is reunited with a person he never thought to meet again, and the two of them are plunged into a new adventure, and fierce battle against a menacing threat to the entire Jedi Order, and the Republic. *Anakin/Ahsoka pairing*.
1. Prologue

**Star Wars: The Risen Darkness**

 **Prologue**

The rumbling sounds of thunder filled the skies over Coruscant's planet wide city. The dark day was made even gloomier by heavy rain, falling down to the high-rise buildings' roofs, and the millions of streets and walkways built in-between them.

Lightning struck near the tall, mysterious, almost menacing looking _Chancellor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center_. The privately owned medical center was a mystery for most of the common folk living on Coruscant, not even most of the prestigious senators knowing what was going on behind its closed doors.

The building had been constructed a few months earlier, by the direct order of the long reigning Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, for unknown reasons. However, as with many things surrounding Chancellor Palpatine, the journalists and media did not try to press him for answers, as the Clone Wars still raged on.

Inside the dark building's private office, a black hooded figure stood in front of a large window, looking outside at the stormy weather. The figure didn't move, just kept staring out of the window.

The room's door slid open a moment afterwards, though the hooded humanoid still didn't react. Another dark clothed figure walked in, approaching the person looking out the window. The just arrived person, a female, stopped a few meters away from the hooded figure, after which she knelt down, bowing her head.

"You summoned me, master..." The female, a _mirialan_ by her species, said quietly. The dark figure in front of her stayed quiet for a moment, before slowly turning around, which made the woman bow her head more.

"Yes... I am glad you're as punctual as ever, young Barriss." The hooded figure, a human man entering his elder years, said, his wrinkly hands holding each other. The mirialan young woman, the former Jedi Barriss Offee, continued to hold her head down.

"If there is one thing I learned from the Jedi, that is to always please your master the best of your abilities. The Dark Side gives me strength, and purpose, Lord Sidious.." Barriss said humbly. The hooded human man, Darth Sidious, smirked slightly.

"Your Jedi training certainly has made this easier... the Dark Side has finally allowed you to harness your true abilities. However, I sense impatience in you..." Sidious said, his smirk disappearing. Barriss bit her lip, though still keeping her head down.

"I'm ready for your service, master. I'm ready to fulfill your wishes! Let me do your bidding.." She implored, squeezing her hands into fists. Darth Sidious was quiet for a moment, before humming.

"It is too early for us to set in motion the final stages of the 'Grand Plan'. Darth Tyranus and General Grievous are doing good enough work for now, keeping the war going." Sidious explained, to which Barriss was about to say something, but was stopped, as her master continued.

"But... there is something you can do.." The Sith Lord said quietly. His young apprentice smiled, her head still down.

"Anything, my master.." Barriss assured. Sidious smirked again, and nodded his head.

"I have a final test for you. There are two people, who have escaped our wrath, that need to be punished; my old apprentice Maul... and Tyranus' former assassin Asajj Ventress. Find them.. and kill them. Only then, can you take your place as my rightful apprentice." Sidious ordered, before slowly turning back around again. Barriss lifted her head up, her eyes glowing with yellow; evidence of her immersion to the Dark Side.

"They will fall before me, master." She declared, standing up, and bowing to her master one last time, before she turned around, and headed out of the dark room.

As the dark apprentice left, Darth Sidious walked to the window again, and looked out, seeing the stormy weather continuing to preside over Coruscant's cityscape. The Sith Lord's face turned to a devilish grin, his eyes also taking the color of yellowish-orange.

"Everything is going as I have planned... not much remains until the Jedi can finally be wiped out.." He said to himself, as he stared to the rainy scenery.

Outside, the people of the galaxy, and especially the Jedi, continued to be in dark about the centuries old plan, that the Sith had been working to fulfill in secret. If everything would continue as planned.. the Sith could rise from their ashes again, and take control of the galaxy, as planned by Darth Bane over a millennia ago.


	2. Chapter 1: Shadows of The Past

**Chapter 1: Shadows of The Past**

Muunilinst; a planet in the edges of the northern Outer Rim, was the homeworld of the _muuns_ , who were one of the largest contributors to the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Early in the Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic's massive clone armies, invaded and suppressed the Separatist strongholds on the planet.

For almost three years, the planet had stayed under Republic control, until now..  
A large Separatist fleet, commanded by the cyborg General Grievous, had attacked the Muunilinst sector, and was now ravaging the defending Republic fleet. The Separatists had also landed massive ground forces to the planet, to battle the clone army stationed there.

A large explosion sent shockwaves in the space above Muunilinst's orbit, almost hitting a damaged _Acclamator-class_ assault ship. Two Eta-2 Actis-class starfighters flew past the cruiser's bridge, heading towards the large space battle, raging over the planet.

The two Eta-2s flew next to each other, being easily one of the fastest ships in the battle. The other was colored blue and white, while the other was in yellow and black coloration. Several _Alpha-3 Nimbus-class_ starfighters flew past the Eta-2s, moving in to engage droid starfighters ahead.

The Alpha-3 Nimbuses, dubbed "V-wing fighters", were a rather recent development in the Republic military. They had replaced the short lived _Z-95 Headhunter_ interceptors, which had fallen out of favor, as the _ARC-170_ heavy starfighters were more capable of hard hitting attacks against the enemy, while the new Alpha-3s were perfect for anti-fighter warfare.

Inside the yellow-colored Eta-2, its Jedi pilot, Anakin Skywalker, adjusted the small headset on his forehead, moving the microphone more close to his face. The human Jedi Knight then looked to his right, seeing the blue Eta-2 fighter flying next to his. Another human Jedi, piloting the fighter, quickly glanced at Anakin, giving him a "thumbs up".

"You ready, Skywalker? We're approaching General Grievous' flagship." The Jedi in the blue Eta-2 asked, talking through the ship's comms. Anakin scoffed quietly, turning his head to look forward, seeing the Separatist fleet over a dozen kilometers away.

"As ready as I'll ever be, Huon.." He said, his hand returning to the ship's controls.

Anakin was flying with Huon Deretius, a young human Jedi, who had just passed his Trials a few months earlier. The rather inexperienced Jedi Knight was almost immediately transferred to the battalion, that defended Muunilinst.

Anakin Skywalker, and his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, had arrived to the planet a day earlier, after they had gotten a tip from Republic Intelligence's sources, that an attack would be imminent. Sure enough, General Grievous had now attacked and invaded, and the Republic fleet defending Muunilinst, was not strong enough to hold the enemy at bay for long.

Anakin, a 22 year old man, and a veteran of the war, had not taken his clone legion, the 501st with him. Instead, his master Obi-Wan, had brought the 212th Attack Battalion to Muunilinst, and was now on the ground, battling the invading droid forces.

As the young Skywalker continued to fly his fighter, his master's hologram appeared on a small emitter next to him.

"Anakin? How are things there?" The bearded Jedi Master asked, his arms folded, as usual. His former Padawan clenched his teeth together, his hands firm on the ship's controls.

"The fleet is breaking apart... we sure could use those reinforcements, Obi-Wan." Anakin said, steering his fighter to dodge a piece of floating debris.

His master opened his mouth to speak, but a nearby explosion made him stagger slightly, which also made the hologram flicker. After that, Obi-Wan looked around, before turning his attention to his apprentice again.

"Admiral Yularen's fleet should arrive shortly. You and Huon just keep the rest of the fleet alive until that... help is one the way." The wise and calm Jedi Master told, to which his bold and reckless apprentice bit his lip.

"General Grievous' ship is dead ahead of us... we could board the ship, and take him out. Without their leader, the rest of the droid fleet should break." Anakin suggested, which made his old master frown, and shake his head.

"Absolutely not, Anakin! It is too risky, and the much safer option is to continue to hold the Separatists back, until our reinforcements arrive." Obi-Wan ordered, after which another explosion on his end made him stagger. The Jedi Master then activated his lightsaber, having noticed trouble.

"I need to go, Anakin. Don't do anything foolish, understood?" Obi-Wan asked, after which he deflected a few blaster bolts with his lightsaber. Anakin sighed long, before nodding.

"Yes, master..." He answered quietly. Obi-Wan nodded his head, deflecting another bolt.

"Good. We'll talk later.. Cody! Cover our flank!" The Jedi Master said, also yelling to his clone commander, after which the hologram disappeared.

Anakin then turned his attention to the task at hand again, continuing to fly his Eta-2. He and Huon flew towards a Separatist _Munificent_ -class frigate. Two _BTL-B Y-wing_ bombers flew past the Jedi starfighters, launching torpedoes at the Separatist frigate.

The torpedoes pierced the 800-meters long frigate's shields, hitting the ship's bridge. The entire bridge section exploded in a bright flash, debris and flames flying out of it. Anakin's and Huon's fighters dodges the ship, steering around the bridge from both sides. The bridge's destruction caused the frigate to enter a chain reaction, dozens of explosions sealing the ship's fate; making it steer down, and submit to destruction.

The two Eta-2 fighters then flew next to each other again, flying past a severely damaged _Venator_ -class star destroyer, which was being hammered by two Munificents. Near the Venator, floated a smaller, _Victory_ -class star destroyer.

The Victory-class star destroyers were another recent development for the Republic Navy. They were 900 meters long, being only a few hundred meters smaller than the Venator-class ships, which were still the main capital ships of the Republic. The Victory-class ships were built in a dagger-like shape, even more so than the Venator, and Acclamator-class capital ships. These new ships were to replace the older Acclamators, though only a dozen of them had been built so far.

The two Jedi Eta-2s flew past the Victory-class destroyer, which was locked in a battle with a large _Recusant_ -class destroyer. Anakin steered his starfighter closer to Huon's, contacting the young human through the comms.

"Huon; we're gonna make our way to General Grievous' ship, and board it. We'll take that monster out once and for all..." The experienced Jedi Knight said, which made his partner raise his eyebrows.

"Are you sure, Skywalker? I thought master Kenobi told us to hold the Seppies' fleet back." Huon answered, making a quick barrel roll, to dodge a piece of debris. Anakin scoffed quietly, leaning back on his pilot's seat.

"Yeah, he did... but quite honestly, it's a stupid plan. You and I can take on Grievous.. I'm sure of it." He argued, which got his Jedi partner quiet for a moment, before sighing.

"Alright.. let's do it, Skywalker." Huon replied, which made Anakin smirk slightly. The older Jedi Knight then opened transmission with nearby clone pilots.

"Warhawk, do you copy?" He said to his microphone. A short moment later, a clone pilot's voice came through.

"I copy, Gold Leader." Clone pilot 'Warhawk' answered.

"Form up your squadron behind us... we're making an attack against the Separatist flagship." The Jedi Knight ordered, pressing a few buttons on his ship's control board.

"We're approaching you now, General Skywalker. We'll keep the droid fighters off you." Warhawk answered, after which the transmission ended.

Anakin then turned his head to look outside, his eyes on the astromech droid, that was attached to his fighter. The young man smiled, as he looked at the blue-colored droid.

"Hold on tight, R2... it's going to be a bumpy ride." He said to his droid friend, who answered with a few cheery chirps and beeps.

In the following moments, a squadron of Alpha-3 fighters flew in formation behind the Jedi fighters. There was around a dozen of the clone fighters, and they all fell in formation behind the two Eta-2s, locking their S-foils to attack position. Anakin and Huon did the same with their starfighters, locking their S-foil wings in preparation for battle.

The over dozen fighters strong squadron was now approaching the large _Providence_ -class destroyer, which was the Separatist fleet's flagship. The destroyer was also General Grievous' flagship, named the _Invisible Hand_.

As the Republic ships approached the enemy capital ship, swarms of droid _Vulture_ fighters, and _Tri-fighters_ , flew away from the Separatist cruisers and destroyers, and moved in to intercept the incoming fighter assault.

"This is where the fun begins.." Huon said over the comms, which made Anakin chuckle quietly.

"I was supposed to say that." He said quietly to himself, shaking his head with a smile.

The moment after that, the two fighter squadrons engaged each other. The droid fighters opened fire, as they flew past the Republic counterparts, who also opened fire with their weapons. Immediately at least a dozen droid fighters were destroyed, while the clones lost a few of their Alpha-3s.

Anakin steered his fighter to the left, dodging a few droid fighters, while shooting the ship's cannons at the incoming enemy, destroying a few of them. Huon did the same with his fighter, though a stray laser bolt hit his ship's left wing. After a few seconds, all of the droid fighters had flown past them.

"Scramble, and get after those fighters! We'll head for the destroyer." Anakin said to his microphone.

"Yes, sir!" Warhawk's voice answered a second later, sounds of blaster fire being clear in the background.

The Alpha-3 fighters then broke off, steering themselves after the passed droid fighters. The two Jedi Eta-2s continued to fly forward, being now less than a kilometer away from General Grievous' ship.

 **...**

On the bridge of the Invisible Hand, a _neimoidian_ captain was sitting in his commander's chair, overlooking the battle, as well as the crew working on their stations. The sudden sound of the bridge's door opening, as well as metallic clanking sounds, got the neimoidian's attention. The clanking sounds came closer, and the sudden raspy cough made the Captain's hear skip a beat.

"What is the situation, Captain?" General Grievous asked in his gruff voice, walking next to the ship's captain, who swallowed audibly.

"The.. the battle is turning in out favor, General. The Republic fleet will soon break. However.. I see two Jedi starfighters approaching the hangar bay... what should we do?" The neimoidian asked. Grievous was quiet, quickly taking a look at the scanners, that had noticed the Jedi fighters.

"Ah.. that must be Skywalker. Bring the ship's shields down! Allow the Jedi to land in the hangar bay... they are no doubt trying to board us." The cyborg _kaleesh_ General said, which made the ship's Captain's eyes widen.

"L-let them.. General...?" He asked in slight fear. Grievous groaned in annoyance.

"Yes! Let them, I said! After they've come aboard, bring the ship around! Get us to hyperspace then... we won't want our Jedi guests to leave too soon." The Separatist General said. The neimoidian captain opened his mouth in slight shock.

"We're going to.. leave... the battle, sir?" The man asked, looking behind himself, as the cyborg was leaving the bridge.

"Yes! Do as I command, or I'll find a replacement for you!" The General growled, his voice getting angrier. The neimoidian had his mouth open, before he silently turned back around.

"I... yes, General! We'll bring the ship around, and leave..." The Captain said, returning to overlook the operations on the bridge. Grievous then made his way off the bridge, quickly stopping before four _IG-100 MagnaGuard_ droids.

"Come with me.. we need to go welcome our Jedi guests." Grievous said to his droid bodyguards, who simply nodded in acknowledgment.

The cyborg and the four droids then left the bridge, intending to meet the boarding Jedi, and give them a "warm" welcome.

 **...**

The two Eta-2 fighters flew low inside the Providence-class destroyer's main hangar bay. The fighters decreased their speed, before gently touching down on the floor. In the following moments, the ships' cockpit's canopies opened, which let the two Jedi step out of their vehicles, and jump down on the metallic floor of the ship. The entire hangar bay was empty, which made Anakin and Huon nervously look around.

"Not even droids working around the hangar... this feels wrong, Skywalker.." Huon said quietly, looking around, his hand slowly moving down to his waist, where his lightsaber was hanging.

"Yeah... we might've walked into a trap.." Anakin answered, stroking his lightly bearded chin. Anakin had never grown a beard, but in the last months, he had stopped taking as much care of his facial appearance.

"So... what do we do?" Huon then asked, looking at his Jedi partner for answers, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Well... we spring the trap, of course. Grievous wants to fight us; I say we give him a fight.." The older Jedi Knight said, starting to walk to the hangar bay's exit. Huon bit his lip, seemingly nervous.

"Uh... I.. are you sure we can take him on? I've never faced him before..." The younger Jedi said, to which Anakin chuckled, and encouragingly patted Huon's shoulder.

"Neither have I, Huon. It'll be the first time for us both." He said with a smile, which only got the younger Jedi more uncomfortable.

As the two humans were leaving the hangar bay, R2-D2 jumped out of his astromech droid socket on Anakin's fighter, and begun to follow the two Jedi. Anakin turned around, and lifted his hand.

"Stay with the ship, R2.. just in case we need to bug out fast." He said to the small droid. Huon looked at his droid, which stayed in the Eta-2's droid socket.

"You too, R5." The young Jedi said simply, to which his droid beeped in acknowledging response. R2 answered with a short chirp, sounding slightly annoyed. The blue-white astromech droid however rolled his way back to the Anakin's ship, following his owner's orders.

After that, the two Jedi Knights walked out of the hangar bay, and stepped into a long hallway, which would lead them further in to the Invisible Hand, and towards the infamous "Jedi killer" Grievous.

 **...**

A powerful laser cannon shot hit the ground in a urban area. The explosion sprayed debris and pieces of the road in the air, raining it down on the ground afterwards. Two Separatist _Armored Assault Tanks_ slowly advanced towards heavily defended clone positions.

Dozens of B1 battle droids, as well as B2 super battle droids advanced with the tanks, shooting their blasters at the clone troopers, who were taking cover in their trenches. In front of the trenches, experienced Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, swung his lightsaber constantly, deflecting dozens of laser bolts.

One of the AATs aimed its powerful cannon at the Jedi, firing a moment later. In the trench behind Obi-Wan, Clone Marshal Commander CC-2224, nicknamed "Cody", jumped up, and grabbed the Jedi with his arms.

"General!" The Commander yelled, as he quickly pulled Obi-Wan down to the trench, avoiding the cannon shot, which exploded mere meters away from them. Obi-Wan panted heavily, as he looked at his clone savior.

"Thanks Cody.." He said simply, to which the clone Commander answered with a small salute.

"It's my job, sir." Cody replied, helping his Jedi General up. Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber again, deflecting one blaster bolt again, as the droids got closer and closer.

"No falling back, men! We can defeat them!" The Jedi Master shouted encouragingly. The dozen 212th Attack Battalion clone troopers answered with an acknowledging yell, after which they all emerged from the trench, and opened fire on the approaching droids.

Several droids fell in the intensive blaster fire, but the two tanks continued to advance. Behind the clone trenches, an _AT-AP_ walker stomped slowly towards the battle, shooting its powerful mass-accelerator cannon. The cannon round hit one of the AAT tanks, destroying it.

Suddenly, a missile flew through the air, and approached the walker. The missile hit the AT-AP walker, piercing its thick armor. The walker exploded into pieces, its flaming hull falling on the ground. Obi-Wan cursed quietly to himself, as he saw the walker being destroyed.

"We need to hold this position! Cody; how's our western flank holding up?" The Jedi asked, as he crouched down next to his clone companion.

"They're still holding; the droids are putting much more effort into breaking our flank down." The clone explained in reply. Before Obi-Wan could answer, a sudden sound changed the look on his face.

Two _LAAT/i_ gunships flew to the area, shooting missiles from their launchers. The missiles destroyed the last AAT tank, and several droids, as the ships flew over them. After that game changer, Obi-Wan smirked, and activated his lightsaber again, standing up.

"Now's our chance! Come on men!" The experienced Jedi Master shouted, as he got up from the trench and began charging at the disoriented droids.

The dozens of clones, clad in yellowish-orange and white armors, emerged from the trenches as well, and charged at the enemy behind their Jedi commanding officer. Obi-Wan slashed his lightsaber at the droids, slicing two of them in half immediately.

He then deflected three shots from the other droids in front of him, before pushing them to the ground with his Force powers. Cody ran behind him, engaging one B1 droid in hand-to-hand combat. The clone Commander easily overpowered the droid, smashing its head with his _DC-15S_ blaster carbine.

The other clones did similarly, also shooting the droids that were further away. Obi-Wan approached a B2 super battle droid, deflecting its shots at him, before driving his blue-bladed lightsaber through the large droid. He then sliced the droid open, destroying it.

After that, many of the droids, that were left, quickly turned around, and tried to retreat. The clones raised their blasters, and opened fire on the fleeing droids, making quick work of them. As the clones continued their carnage, Commander Cody walked next to Obi-Wan.

"That was a lucky break, sir... let's hope we can drive the 'clankers' out before the day's done.." The clone said, breathing slightly heavy. Obi-Wan hummed quietly to that, nodding his head.

"I hope Anakin has been able to hold the Separatist fleet back with Huon... Admiral Yularen should join them soon." He said quietly, deactivating his lightsaber, and placing it on his belt. He then turned his attention to a nearby clone, who was kicking a destroyed droid on the ground.

"Speaking of which; Trapper! Have you heard anything from General Skywalker?" Obi-Wan asked the clone, walking to him with Cody. Trapper, the communications officer of the squad silently shook his head.

"No, sir. General Skywalker's signal was cut out a little while ago... he might've landed his fighter, and exited it." The clone trooper answered. Obi-Wan didn't like the sound of that, sighing long.

"Well, I hope that he didn't board Grievous' ship... Force only knows how risky that would be..." The 38 year old human Jedi Master said under his breath, walking away from the trooper, Cody following closely behind him.

Anakin had become distant, and even more reckless than before, ever since his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, had left the Jedi Order around nine months ago. Obi-Wan knew, just how strong the Force Bond between a master and an apprentice could be; he remembered the time after his own master, Qui-Gon Jinn had died at the hands of Darth Maul.

Obi-Wan had become cold, distant, and rather lifeless, after his master had died, as an effect from his Force Bond breaking with him. After Obi-Wan had gotten over Qui-Gon's death, he had returned to normal.

He understood, how devastated Anakin likely was, but he was extremely worried about his former Padawan as well. Anakin had always been reckless, and bold, but after losing his own apprentice, the young Jedi Knight had become near suicidal during certain missions; charging head on towards battle, not minding the consequences. Anakin had also become more and more at odds with the Jedi Council, not paying much attention to their suggestions and orders.

For months, Obi-Wan had defended his apprentice, assuring the Council that Anakin could be brought around, and made to see reason again, and get over the loss of his Padawan. The Jedi Master also knew, what had happened after Anakin had lost his mother to the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine, which certainly didn't bolster Obi-Wan's confidence at all.

Still, he continued to do his best, in order to make Anakin see the light again, and not fall to despair and darkness. Jedi all too often resorted to turning to the Dark Side, after emotionally devastating events. Anakin was strong, arguably the strongest Jedi in the Order at this time; if he were to turn to the Dark Side, it could prove devastating to not just himself, but the entire Jedi Order as well...

 **...**

Anakin and Huon walked along a quiet hallway inside the _Invisible Hand_. The two humans had not talked for several minutes, instead quietly walked along the metallic hallway. Huon's eyes slowly wandered down to Anakin's waist, and the young Jedi saw how his partner's fingers were fiddling with a string of _silka_ beads, attached to his belt.

"That almost looks like an artificial Padawan braid." Huon noted, looking forwards again. Anakin's heart skipped a beat, as he had not noticed himself, that he was fiddling with the beads. He cleared his throat quickly.

"Well... they were Padawan braids once... they belonged to my apprentice." He answered quietly. Huon hummed as a response.

"You mean Ahsoka Tano? I heard what happened with her... I'm sorry; I can imagine how bad you felt after her departure." The young human said, his eyes wandering back to Anakin's belt, where he saw a lightsaber hanging.

"Is that her lightsaber too?" He asked. Anakin took a look down at his waist, seeing the two lightsabers hanging from his belt. The other was his, and the other was Ahsoka's.

"Yeah... it belonged to her.." The Jedi Knight answered, his voice a bit quieter now than before.

"What does the Council think about you using your former Padawan's lightsaber? Did they allow it?" Huon then asked, which made the human next to him scoff slightly.

"I don't know what they think about it, because I don't care. I'll use my Padawan's lightsaber, if I want to... it's not like it'd get any use otherwise.." Anakin answered quietly, which made Huon raise his eyebrows.

Before they could continue, a door at the far end of the hallway opened. To the two Jedi's surprise, four IG MagnaGuards, being flanked by the cyborg Grievous, walked towards them. Huon immediately stopped, and took out his lightsaber from his belt, activating it. The blue blade emitted the usual low hum, like any lightsaber.

Anakin stopped after a few steps as well, though not taking out his lightsabers, and instead just looked at the approaching enemy. The magnaguards, and Grievous, stopped around five meters from the Jedi, the cyborg General chuckling slightly.

"Well, what do we have here? Two Jedi... on my ship.." Grievous said with a laugh, after which he coughed a few times. The cyborg's yellowish-green reptilian-style eyes then locked with Anakin's.

"Anakin Skywalker... what a pleasure to meet you finally. Though I expected the most prestigious Jedi Knight in recent history to be a bit... older.." Grievous stated with a short laugh. Anakin smirked at him, shrugging his shoulders.

"And I expected the infamous 'Jedi Killer' General Grievous to be a bit taller... so I guess we're both disappointed." The brash Jedi Knight answered with a smirk. Grievous laughed at that, followed with another cough.

"What a funny joke.. Jedi scum..." The cyborg said, turning around, and slowly walking past his guard droids. Huon kept his stance ready, being nervous.

"What do we do, Skywalker?" He asked nervously, holding his lightsaber near his face, being in a normal defending stance. Before Anakin could reply, Grievous chuckled again.

"I presume you two came to capture me. I'll humor a challenge; defeat, my droids, and I'll fight you myself.." The cyborg said in his raspy voice, before tapping the shoulders of two of his droids.

"Kill them.." The General ordered, after which the four MagnaGuards immediately struck their electrostaffs to the floor, activating them.

The four droids then swung the staffs around, distinct electric sound emitting from them, as well as purple colored electricity. Anakin simply took out his lightsaber, activating it, and taking a similar stance to Huon.

Two of the MagnaGuards attacked first, swinging their staffs at the two Jedi. Anakin quickly dodged the droids staff, that was pointed at him, whereas Huon slowly backed away, blocking the hits that the other droid pressed on him with his lightsaber.

Anakin quickly turned around, and struck the droid with his weapon. The droid reacted quickly, and blocked the Jedi's attack with its lightsaber-resistant staff. Anakin and the droid were now locked in a battle of strength, both trying to push each other with all their might.

The young Jedi Knight then suddenly broke off the blade lock, again dodging the droid's attack, managing to get behind it. Anakin then quickly and efficiently stabbed the MagnaGuard in the back, impaling its machine intestines. The droid shook around, as its motors were critically damaged. Anakin sliced his lightsaber across the droid's back then, sealing the deal. The droid fell on the ground, deactivated.

The two other MagnaGuards then made their way to Anakin, swinging their staffs around. The young man could see his Jedi partner, still fighting the other droid, being quite busy. Anakin then hummed quietly to himself, and moved his left hand to his waist.

He grabbed the other lightsaber on his belt, and took it out, activating it. The saber's green blade activated, which Anakin brought near his face, with his blue-bladed lightsaber, making a cross with them near his neck.

"Well... come at me.." He said to the droids, which did as asked, attacking him with their staffs.

Anakin crouched quickly, dodging the two staffs, before slicing both of his lightsabers at the droids' legs. The droids however reacted faster than expected, and used the electrostaffs to block Anakin's lightsabers.

The Jedi Knight scoffed to himself, as he swung himself around, regaining his focus. The two droids made another attack, swinging their staffs at Anakin in a stabbing motion. The young human man bent his back, dodging the electric tips of the staffs. He then threw his lightsabers back, using the Force to push them further away.

Anakin then grabbed the MagnaGuards' electrostaffs, and pulled the droids closer to him with them. He then jumped up, doing a forward flip, as he moved over the droids. He landed behind the guards, who were slightly disoriented from that sudden trick.

Anakin then smirked, and called upon the Force, pulling his lightsabers back through the air. The hilts flew into his hands, and he activated the swords. As the droids turned around, Anakin quickly sliced through both of their stomachs with his lightsabers.

The two MagnaGuards were cut in half, their upper bodies falling on the floor. The droids weren't destroyed however, as they tried to attack Anakin with only their upper bodies available. The Jedi Knight quickly drove his lightsabers' blades through the droids' heads, destroying them once and for all.

Anakin took a deep breath, taking a look at Huon, who successfully managed to severe the MagnaGuard's arm, that was attacking him. After that, the young and inexperienced Knight swung around, bringing his lightsaber blade down, slicing through the entirety, of the droid's body.

After the droid had fallen on the floor, both Jedi took a deep breath, before turning their attention to Grievous, who silently looked at them.

"Impressive... but I have seen many Jedi defeat these droids before. None of them have managed to destroy me, however... so.. give it your best shot, Skywalker..." The kaleesh cyborg said, before moving his hands under his cloak, taking two lightsabers from his infamous collection.

The General then activated the lightsabers, blue and green blades emitting from their hilts. Anakin and Huon took a defensive stance, preparing for the cyborg, who chuckled slightly. Grievous then began to swing his lightsabers around at incredible speeds, using his robotic hands to give more speed to his wrists.

As Grievous walked closer to them, Anakin suddenly looked at Huon.

"Huon! Jump!" He shouted, to which the young Jedi complied. Huon jumped over Grievous, landing behind him, while Anakin leaped towards the General, locking blades with him.

As Huon attempted to stab Grievous in the back, the cyborg General used an ace from his sleeve. Two other arms suddenly detached from his main arms, which immediately twisted backwards in a way that no human could do, grabbing Huon's arms, as he tried to backstab Grievous.

"Fool..." The General said simply, looking into the eyes of Anakin, who still had his blades locked in with Grievous. The cyborg then threw Huon over his head, smashing the young human at Anakin, making them both fall on the floor.

As the two human Jedi lied incapacitated on the cold metallic floor, Grievous laughed at them, pacing around slowly, swinging his lightsabers a few times.

"You disappoint me so far, Skywalker... not even with the help of another Jedi, can you beat me." The General taunted, before coughing a couple of times.

Anakin groaned quietly, as he and Huon got up. The two of them got on their feet, and immediately activated their lightsabers again. Grievous saw that, and chuckled, moving his third and fourth arm to his cloak, taking out two more lightsabers. The cyborg activated the lightsabers, and swung them around, taking a defensive stance this time.

"Attack me, puny Jedi!" Grievous demanded, laughing devilishly at the Jedi in front of him.

Anakin and Huon did as demanded, lunging at the cyborg Separatist general. Anakin used his two lightsabers to strike at Grievous' left arms, while Huon tried his best to keep his right side occupied, with fast and vicious slashes. Grievous however deflected every single attack that the two Jedi placed on him, laughing tauntingly at them.

After a moment of slowly retreating back, Grievous suddenly kicked Huon in the stomach, causing the young Jedi to fall back, air escaping his lungs. The General then focused his attention on Anakin, locking his four blades with the Jedi's two. As the two held their blades lock in together, Grievous moved his face closer to Anakin's, looking into his eyes, after glancing at his lightsabers.

"I know that lightsaber... I've seen it before.." The cyborg said quietly, taking another glance at the weapon. Anakin felt sweat forming on his forehead, and his heart pounding in his chest. Grievous then suddenly chuckled, looking into his eyes.

"Ah yes... I remember now; it belonged to that small _togruta_ girl. I remember almost killing her... it seems that she met her maker anyway, considering that you have her lightsaber.." Grievous said, his reptile eyes looking deep into Anakin's, who was breathing faster.

"I hope she suffered, before dying..." The General then said, which caused the human Jedi to clench his teeth together.

Those words, that taunting, it was getting to Anakin. The thought of Ahsoka being dead, and him likely being the cause of it, crushed the young Jedi's heart. The adrenaline, the rage, the sorrow and the anger built up inside him.. he couldn't take it anymore.

Anakin shouted loudly, giving in all his strength, managing to slice his lightsabers down, cutting off one of Grievous' robot hands. The cyborg reacted to that with anger, groaning in frustration, as Anakin tried to regain his focus.

Grievous did the same as with Huon, kicking the human Jedi in the stomach. Anakin bent down, air escaping his lungs. As he looked up, the cyborg moved his cut arm back, before suddenly lunging it forwards. The cut arm hit Anakin in his chin, effectively knocking him out.

Anakin found himself lying on the floor next. He groggily looked around, groaning slightly, as he touched his chin. Grievous was near him, looking down on Huon, swinging his lightsabers around. Huon groaned, and got up, activating his lightsaber yet again. Grievous simply chuckled, as the worn human Jedi tried to attack him.

Huon slashed at Grievous, his lightsaber hitting two of the General's blades. Grievous used his lower arm's lightsaber, to lash at the young human, cutting a wound to his left leg. Huon hissed in pain, taking a few steps back. Grievous chuckled again, following the Jedi, his lightsabers ready to strike out again.

"And so I claim another Jedi... your lightsaber will make a fine addition to my collection." The cyborg said, his raspy laugh taunting the wounded Jedi.

Huon clenched his teeth together, letting out a desperate cry, as he lashed out against Grievous yet again. The Jedi brought his lightsaber down, locking blades with Grievous' main hand lightsabers. The General could only chuckle, as both he and Huon realized, what a mistake the latter had made.

A second later, Grievous drove his third lightsaber through Huon's stomach, impaling him. Anakin clenched his teeth together, as he saw his Jedi partner being mortally wounded. Grievous let out a laugh, as he kept the lightsaber in Huon's stomach, who had his mouth open in shock.

Grievous then kicked Huon, making him fall back on the floor. The young Jedi stayed down, slowly moving his hand to his stomach, which had a smoking lightsaber stab wound in it. Anakin tried to get up, cursing himself in his head, for letting this happen to Huon. He could hear clanking noises behind him; more droids were approaching.

Grievous deactivated all of his lightsabers, placing them back in his cloak. He then walked over to Huon, picking up his lightsaber hilt from the ground. The General then looked at Anakin, chuckling again.

"What a disappointment this was, Skywalker... I expected better from you. But I suppose that you couldn't be anything amazing.. seeing how your apprentice failed as well..." The cyborg General taunted, which made the human Jedi frown.

"Don't you ever talk about her!" Anakin shouted, sitting up, and calling his lightsaber hilt with the Force. The hilt landed on his hand, after which he activated it, and tried to lunge at Grievous.

However, at the moment Anakin tried to attack, he could hear the electric sound of an electrostaff activating. Suddenly, his back was hit with a staff, and the electricity ran through his body, making him shake in pain. The electricity forced him down again, his lightsaber falling off his hands.

As Anakin lied on the floor again, two MagnaGuards stood over him, their electrostaffs ready to torture him. Grievous walked over to him, picking up the two lightsabers from the ground.

"Fortunately for you, Skywalker... Count Dooku wants you alive. However... he never specified in what condition I should deliver you to him.." Grievous said, before laughing in his raspy voice, and walking away. The two MagnaGuards then brought their staffs down, electrocuting Anakin, who could only shout in pain.

Two B1 security battle droid walked over to the wounded Huon, aiming their E-5 blasters at him. The droids executed the young aspiring Jedi Knight in cold blood, shooting him full of smoking holes with their blaster rifles.

The MagnaGuards kept electrocuting Anakin, making him spasm and scream in pain. The droids didn't stop, instead continuing to torture the young human, who was beginning to lose his consciousness.

After a few moments, Anakin's pained screams ended, as the pain overcame him. The young Jedi Knight fell unconscious, the two MagnaGuards still electrocuting his body for good measure.

 **...**

Dozens of people crowded a busy marketplace in the commercial district of Anchorhead. The city on the desert planet Tatooine, had been founded nearly four thousand years ago, and it still to this day, was a thriving community, being one of the planet's main spaceports. With around 1000 permanent residents, Anchorhead wasn't one of Tatooine's largest cities. However, its historical significance kept the city as one of the planet's most important settlements.

A group of children ran across the marketplace, one of them slightly bumping into another person, who was walking around. The kid quickly looked at the person, giving a small salute with his fingers as an apology, before running off with his friends. The person he bumped into, wearing a dusty robe and a hood, simply looked after the children running, a small smile appearing on their face. Two medium length, blue and white colored _lekku_ hanged over the person's chest, marking them as an adolescent togruta.

The hooded person then walked over to a small vendor, taking a look at their wares. The young togruta noticed a familiar looking power cell, amongst the miscellaneous items of the vendor's kiosk. The salesman, a large male _besalisk_ , noticed the curious customer, chuckling slightly.

"Interested in that power cell, young lady? Authentic Republic military equipment that is.." The besalisk man said, clasping his hands together once. The togruta, a young woman, took a closer look at the cell, humming quietly.

"Where'd you get it?" She asked the salesman, who let out a small laugh.

"Found it at the site of a small skirmish between the Seppies and the Republic. Lots of other stuff too; mostly droid parts." The man answered, before quickly handing over some items to another customer, as the togruta girl once again looked at the power cell. It was from a standard clone trooper's equipment kit.

"It's a collectible item, I'd say... since it doesn't work anymore.." The besalisk man said, returning his attention to the girl, who suddenly looked up.

"I'll take it." She said simply, which surprised the man.

"Really? Didn't think anyone out here would be interested in such things. Well.. it'll be five _druggats_ , or seven _wupiupi_... depending on which you have." The salesman answered. The togruta girl smiled, and handed the man five druggats, which was the main currency on Tatooine.

"Here you go." She said, to which the vendor chuckled.

"Thanks.. glad to do business with ya." The besalisk said. The girl then put the small power cell in a satchel bag, that was hanging on her side.

After that transaction, the togruta girl headed over to the marketplace's food vendor. She, along with dozens of other people, went to vendors like this, to get their daily groceries. The girl spent a few minutes, looking through the many baskets of different kinds of fruits and meat, that the vendor was selling.

After she had gathered everything she needed, the girl walked to the vendor, and quickly paid for her groceries. She then started to make her way out of the marketplace, having finished her shopping. She had a speeder parked nearby, towards which she was now walking.

The togruta girl walked around a corner, to the small parking lot for speeders. She located her 74-Z speeder bike nearby, and made her way to it. The 74-Z speeder bikes were mainly used by several militaries around the Galaxy, the Republic included. Some were manufactured for commercial use, though the number of civilian 74-Zs was really small.

As the togruta girl approached her speeder bike, she noticed a _zabrak_ man, standing near the vehicle. The horned man looked around quickly, having noticed the young woman approaching him and the bike. The girl frowned her face, as she sensed that trouble was coming her way.

As she got a few meters away from him, the zabrak suddenly drew a blaster pistol on her. The girl stopped immediately, letting out a quiet gasp.

"This your bike, girl?" The zabrak asked, clenching his teeth together. The girl lifted her hands up, showing the man, that she wasn't armed.

"Yes..." She answered quietly. The zabrak looked around again, to see that no one was around to witness the crime he was committing.

"Give me the activation key, and then all your money! Quickly now!" The man ordered in hurry, his hand shaking a bit as he looked around again. The girl could tell, that the zabrak was a drug user, mostly likely a " _death stick_ " addict.

"Okay... okay, just give me a second. Why do this in the middle of the day?" She asked, while slowly moving her hand to her satchel. The zabrak looked around again, his fingers fiddling around the pistol's trigger.

"I don't know! I need money and a vehicle! Just stop talking, and do as I say.." The man shouted, biting his lip. The girl hummed quietly, her hand still moving to her satchel.

"What's taking you so long!?" The man asked in a loud voice. The girl sighed quietly as a response.

Out of nowhere, the girl held her hand out, pulling the pistol out of the zabrak's hand, levitating it towards her. The pistol stopped in the air in front of her, floating. The zabrak stared at her with a shocked expression, as she squeezed her hand into a fist, which crushed the pistol into pieces.

"What the-" The man could only say, before being interrupted by the girl, lunging at him, and grabbing his right arm, which had just held the pistol.

The togruta swiftly and effectively twisted the man's arm, breaking it, before athletically spinning around, using the man's arm as leverage, going around his neck with her legs, and bringing him down on the sandy ground.

The zabrak coughed, and groaned in pain, as he took a hold of his broken arm. The togruta got up, and stood over the incapacitated man.

"Who are you? What the bloody _hell_ was that!? Ouh..." The man complained, almost starting to cry, as he groaned in pain.

The girl then took off her hood, revealing her head. She looked like any other togruta, owning orange colored skin, which was the second most common skin color of the species. The hollow horns on the top of her head, called _montrals_ , were still growing, as she was an adolescent, and had not yet reached their full size. The same went with her head-tails, which were almost exactly the same way, as with _twi'leks_ , who also possessed head-tails, called _lekku._ They too hadn't yet reached their full length.

Her face had white natural markings on it, something that was different for every togruta. The top of her forehead, where her montrals began, was decorated with small jewelry, something many togruta did. The girl looked at the lying zabrak, her ice blue colored eyes shining in the bright sunlight.

"I'm not your ordinary and defenseless scavenger girl..." She said, her face frowned, as she stared at the man, who was whimpering.

"You... you broke my arm..." The zabrak complained. The togruta girl got on top of her speeder bike, moving the activation key to the speeder's activation port.

"Be glad that I didn't do more to you... trust me.. I could've broken every bone in your body." She said quite indifferently, igniting the engine of her speeder.

As the zabrak man stayed lying on the ground, clutching his broken arm, and continuing to whimper in pain, the girl moved her speeder to float a meter off the ground, before revving the bike's accelerator.

She then took out a pair of goggles from her satchel, and placed them on her face. After that, she revved the bike's accelerator again, before taking off the handbrake. The speeder bike launched itself, flying away.

The girl steered the bike towards the city's exit, increasing her vehicle's speed as she flew closer to the exit. In a few moments, she cleared the city's limits, after which she increased the vehicle's speed even more, reaching the speeds of nearly 140 galactic kilometers per hour.

The togruta flew her speeder to the empty sand dunes surrounding Anchorhead, heading to her home, which lied several kilometers away from all the nearby cities. No one on Tatooine knew who she really was, which was one of the reason why she chose to settle on the planet; so that she could escape her past...

 **...**

Anakin slowly opened his eyes, feeling like he'd have slept for days. His vision was blurry at first, but he managed to wake up completely in a few short moments. He looked around himself, seeing that he was being held in a small cell. He was cuffed to the back wall of the room, his hands having been pinned against the wall with ray-shield cuffs. He sighed, cursing inside his head for getting himself to this position. Grievous had imprisoned him, and Huon was dead; things were not looking good.

The cell's door opened then, and Anakin looked up towards it. General Grievous walked in, his robotic hands behind his back. The cyborg walked over to the imprisoned Jedi, chuckling in his raspy voice. Two B1 security battle droids were with the General, positioning themselves behind him.

"Not quite what you had planned, right, Skywalker?" Grievous asked, his face mere inches away from Anakin's, who frowned.

"Laugh while it lasts, Grievous... when I get out of here.. I'll cut the rest of your arms off." The Jedi answered quietly. The General chuckled again, shaking his head.

"How very threatening, Skywalker. Unfortunately for you, I'm taking you to Count Dooku as we speak. He'll know what to do with you..." Grievous stated, which made Anakin scoff quietly.

"Yeah.. you're his little lapdog, aren't you? You do his bidding without question... like a slave." He said with a smirk. Grievous stared at him for a second, before suddenly smacking his face. Anakin groaned in pain, as the hard hand of the cyborg left a red mark on his cheek.

"Don't push me, slime! I can bring much more pain to you, before we get to Dooku!" Grievous said loudly, staring into Anakin's eyes, who was quiet now. The General then moved his hand to his cloak, taking out Ahsoka's lightsaber, and pressing the hilt against the human Jedi's throat.

"I could kill you in an instant with this lightsaber! I cannot feel the Force.. but I can see clearly, how much pain you are in, when you think about that girl. If she didn't die, then what happened? You failed, in any case.. didn't you?" Grievous taunted, which made Anakin breathe heavier, as he was getting angrier.

"She made her choice... I have to respect it. But don't you ever talk about her.. you hear me, Grievous?" He warned, clenching his teeth together.

Anakin still blamed himself, for letting Ahsoka get to the position she was in nine months ago. If he'd have kept a closer eye on her, she wouldn't have been framed for the murder of the Jedi Temple bomber. Because of his inability to look after his own Padawan, she was framed, and shunned by the Jedi Council.

After he had caught the real culprit; Barriss Offee, he and the Jedi had asked Ahsoka to return.. but she refused. Even though Anakin respected his apprentice's choice, it hurt him profusely. To hear Grievous taunt him about Ahsoka, about how he failed, was really driving the young Jedi to his limits.

"Or what? You'll bravado me to death? You make plenty of boastful threats, Skywalker... but so far, you haven't impressed me.." Grievous said, his robotic hand moving to Anakin's face, touching his chin. The human Jedi frowned again, looking into the General's eyes.

"You haven't seen anything yet..." The young Jedi said, his frowned face stern, as he stared at Grievous.

In that moment, Grievous could suddenly hear a low hum. The droids behind him could hear it too, as they started to look around. The pipes and power lines inside the cell began shaking and breaking apart. It was like an earthquake hit the Invisible Hand.

Grievous looked around in confusion, as the droids next to him suddenly shook violently, letting out a few pained cries, before suddenly being crushed by an invisible force. The General then realized, what was happening. It most certainly was the Force.

Grievous turned to look at Anakin again, who simply stared at him with a stern look. The cuffs around his wrists started to shook as well, and the General chuckled.

"Now you're starting to impress me..." He said quietly, before slowly beginning to back away from the cell.

Anakin frowned more, clenching his teeth together. The cuffs around his hands broke off then, letting the young Jedi free. Anakin fell on his knees, before getting up, and staring at the cyborg, his teeth clenched together. He then extended his hands, quickly pulling his and Ahsoka's lightsabers from Grievous' clutches back to his hands. He activated the lightsabers, and set the blades facing towards the ground.

"Now you'll see something.." The Jedi said with a smirk, before swinging the lightsabers around a bit. General Grievous chuckled, taking out two lightsabers, and activating them. After that, he shook off his cloak, preparing for a proper duel.

"Very well then... let's see if you do better this time.." The cyborg said with a chuckle, before taking a defensive stance.

Anakin frowned deeply, and clenched his teeth together. He then lunged at Grievous, crossing blades with him.

 **...**

Squads of 212th Attack Battalion's clone troopers marched in the city of _Hareb_ on Muunilinst. The battle on the ground had been won; the Separatist droid forces had been destroyed, and the fleet had been decimated, after Republic reinforcements had arrived.

The clones were now rounding up the destroyed droids, piling them up for the cleanup crews to take away. Jedi High General Obi-Wan Kenobi, was standing at a forward operations base, deep inside the city. Clone Commander Cody was beside him, as the General conversed with Admiral Wulf Yularen, via hologram.

"Are you sure, Admiral?" Obi-Wan asked, his hand stroking his bearded chin. The aged human admiral nodded his head in response.

"Yes, sir. We've found no traces of either General Skywalker, or General Deretius. Although, CC-5991.. or 'Warhawk', just told me; that Skywalker and Deretius boarded General Grievous' ship. I'm assuming, that they were still aboard the ship, when it left the battle, around half an hour ago..." Yularen explained, his hands behind his back. Obi-Wan sighed long, rubbing his forehead.

"I see. Thank you, Admiral.. that'll be all." The Jedi Master said, to which the human Admiral amicably nodded his head, before his hologram disappeared.

Obi-Wan sighed long again, his hand moving down to his mouth, and then his bearded chin again. Cody, who had his helmet set down on a nearby table, looked at his commanding Jedi officer silently.

"You alright, sir?" The clone asked respectfully. Obi-Wan sighed, leaning on the hologram table.

"Thanks for asking, Cody... it's fine.." He said quietly, before turning around, and taking a few steps away from Cody and the table. The experienced Jedi Master sighed yet again, his hand again rubbing his dusty forehead.

"Why did he do it..? For the Force's sake, Anakin... what is going through your mind?" He asked himself quietly.

He was worried about his reckless apprentice. Facing Grievous all by himself was one of the most dangerous things Obi-Wan could think of Anakin doing. Even though he had faced down Grievous earlier many times, Obi-Wan still would never want his own former Padawan, to meet his untimely end with the cyborg monster.

He didn't question his apprentice's skill, and was sure, that Anakin could very well defeat Grievous. However, the young Jedi's mind had been clouded, angry and depressed for months, which would very well inhibit Anakin's ability to fight, and not lose his focus.

Obi-Wan sighed again, before slowly walking around by himself. He needed to think, think deeply. If he wouldn't be able to establish contact with Anakin, he'd definitely need to mount up a rescue operation. He couldn't leave his Padawan in danger, the person who was one of the closest people to him. He had come too far, just to lose the Anakin now to this.

 **...**

Grievous slowly walked backwards, as he deflected Anakin's flurries time after time again. The cyborg had not been able to press any sort of attack himself, but neither had his Jedi opponent been able to break his defenses.

Anakin was panting strongly, his stamina starting to run out, as Grievous continued to block his attacks. The cyborg's advantage was, that he'd never get tired, as his entire body was cybernetic.

"Getting tired, Skywalker? Are you even trying?" Grievous taunted, chuckling menacingly. Anakin took a deep breath, and hit Grievous' lightsabers yet again. He managed to hit the cyborg's left hand lightsaber, cutting its hilt in half.

As Grievous staggered back slightly, Anakin saw his chance to attack. He raised his lightsabers up, before bringing them down on the cyborg General. Grievous raised his right hand up, blocking the two blades with his lightsaber. As the two stayed that way, the Separatist General suddenly drew a blaster pistol with his left hand.

Before Anakin could react, Grievous pulled the pistol's trigger, two shots hitting the human Jedi in his stomach. The first shot was mostly absorbed by Anakin's sturdy Jedi outfit, but the second one went right through the cloth, as well as his body.

The human Jedi clenched his teeth together, as the pain kicked in. He staggered back, his arms falling down, as he couldn't hold his lightsabers up any longer. Grievous laughed quietly, putting his pistol away. The cyborg stomped over to Anakin, who leaned against the hallway's wall, sliding down to sit on the floor.

"And now... the great Anakin Skywalker dies.." Grievous said, chuckling maniacally. Anakin breathed heavily, the gunshot wound stinging in his stomach.

He watched as Grievous brought his lightsaber up, preparing to execute him, which was against Count Dooku's orders, if they were to be believed. As Grievous brought the blade down, Anakin suddenly pushed the General back with the Force.

Grievous flew back violently, hitting the wall behind him. Grievous hit the floor under him then, having lost all his balance. Anakin quickly looked around, noticing an escape pod nearby. He had to escape; Grievous had wounded him, and wound no doubt succeed in killing him, if he didn't get away quickly.

As Grievous tried to get back on his feet, Anakin crawled to the escape pod. The cyborg general got up, and started to walk towards him again. The young Jedi managed to crawl into the escape pod, lying on the floor of the small craft.

"Don't try to escape like a coward, Skywalker!" Grievous shouted, as he approached the escape pod, reigniting his blue-bladed lightsaber.

Anakin took a deep breath, sitting up inside the pod. He then pulled his and Ahsoka's lightsabers from the floor to him, after which he used the Force to close the pod's door, and launch it out of the Invisible Hand.

The escape pod launched, flying away from the Separatist flagship. Anakin sighed deeply, as he had escaped certain doom. He immediately grabbed his arm, activating the small comlink, that was attached to his left wrist.

"R2... R2, come in!" He said to the communication device. R2's beeping voice came through a few seconds later, asking his Jedi owner about what was going on.

"I'm wounded, R2. I managed to get away from Grievous in an escape pod. Fly my ship out, and contact Obi-Wan! Try to find out where we are... I'll see if I can land this thing on a planet.." Anakin said to the comlink, after which the astromech droid answered in an acknowledging tone.

The Jedi closed the transmission then, getting himself up from the escape pod's floor, and sitting down on the seats. He clutched his stomach, the wound causing him to hiss in pain. Anakin looked out of the pod's window, hoping that the Invisible Hand had arrived to a star system. Sure enough, he could see a planet below him.

"Oh thank the Force..." He said quietly, as he moved his hands to the pod's controls, and steered it towards the planet.

As the pod closed in on the planet, Anakin could see more of its features. It was definitely a desert planet, being covered in sand completely. After a few short moments of approaching the planet, Anakin's face turned sour, as he recognized the sandy rock in space.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me..." He said to himself, sighing.

The wounded Jedi then continued to approach the desert planet Tatooine with the escape pod. This was Anakin's home planet, a place where he never liked to return. He avoided this hot, sandy piece of rock in the middle of nowhere as much as he could, as the planet only held bad memories for him.

It was like something wanted him to return to Tatooine, no matter how hard he wanted to just stay away from it. Anakin knew that getting into contact with Obi-Wan on the planet's surface would be hard, since the planet was far away from any Republic jurisdiction. Asking Jabba the Hutt for help was risky nowadays as well, as the _hutts'_ relationship with the Republic had deteriorated again during the last months.

Anakin sighed yet again to himself, leaning back against the escape pod's wall. He let the pod enter Tatooine's atmosphere, and waited to once again touch the hot planet's rocky surface, which was something, that he really didn't want to experience ever again...


	3. Chapter 2: An Unexpected Reunion

**Chapter 2: An Unexpected Reunion**

 **Four and a half years earlier...**

"Ah, come on..." A young togruta girl said to herself, trying to fit a necklace around her neck, whilst looking at herself in the mirror. She sighed in slight frustration, as the lekku behind her head was getting in her way of trying to get the necklace on.

There was a knock on her door, after which it was opened. A human girl stepped in, seeing her togruta friend looking at herself in the mirror.

"You're still not done, Ahsoka?" The girl asked with a chuckle. The togruta, Ahsoka Tano, rolled her eyes.

"Can it, Kriza? Help me put this on.." She said to the human, who chuckled, and walked behind her, helping her to get the necklace on.

"Are you excited? I imagine the party will be boring... but you never know." Kriza said with a smile, coming next to the togruta, who shrugged her shoulders.

"It's not just our birthday party, others will be there too... so yeah.. it might very well be boring..." She answered, before taking a small container of lipstick, and putting it on, her lips getting a light reddish-pink coloration.

Jedi weren't usually allowed to wear makeup, or excessive jewelry; but this day was an exception. Ahsoka and her friend Kriza Willsaam, had turned 13 recently. A Jedi tradition was, that when an apprentice turned 13, their masters would celebrate that birthday with them.

As both Ahsoka and Kriza weren't serving under a master, they celebrated their 13th birthdays along with all the other "master-less" apprentices on the same day. The day wasn't the actual birthday of most of the kids, but it was a tradition for a Jedi to especially celebrate turning 13 years old.

Ahsoka had never prepared her looks this way, even though she knew how to do it. Jedi were humble and not very material people, but they did have some liberties on being "normal" every once in a while.

Kriza had her shoulder length hair curled up slightly, making her look really cute. Kriza had been Ahsoka's friend for nearly as long as she had been with the Order. Like her, Kriza had been brought to the Jedi Temple as a toddler, as most Jedi initiates were. Kriza's family was strong in the Force, with Jedi serving with the Order in every generation, since the times of the Old Republic.

"You think our future masters will be there? I hear many masters come to these parties, in order to meet and get to know their possible future Padawans.." Kriza said with hope in her voice; she really wanted to become a Padawan soon. Ahsoka chuckled at her friend, patting her shoulder.

"I guess we'll see there, Kriza. Let's go." She said with a smile, to which her friend cheerily nodded her head. The two then left Ahsoka's small quarters, heading for the nearby atrium, where the celebration would be held.

 **...**

Around 45 minutes later, Ahsoka and Kriza were standing around in the small atrium, in the west wing of the Jedi Temple. The birthday celebration was being held there, with many Jedi being present. Around twelve young Jedi were the "day's heroes", including Ahsoka and Kriza.

There weren't many Jedi Masters around, which seemed to deeply disappoint Kriza. Ahsoka didn't really care about that, even though she'd have no problems with meeting her future master. Finding a master was a cause of stress for many young Jedi, as the initiates, who couldn't get themselves under a master, would end up serving the Order in the _Jedi Service Corps_.

Even though the work in the Service Corps was important, many Jedi who ended up working there, faced slight discrimination from their peers, as they were usually seen as having failed their basic Jedi training, for ending up in that position. This was why many young Jedi worked their hardest to impress their possible masters.

As Ahsoka and Kriza stood around in the atrium, more Jedi entered the room as well, likely to attend the party as well. The young togruta girl took a sip of a carbonated drink in her hand, which was the only kind of beverage available. The last thing the Jedi wanted, was their underage initiates getting drunk on alcohol.

After a few moments, Kriza gasped quietly. Ahsoka raised her "eyebrows", looking at her friend inquisitively. The young human girl pointed towards the atrium's entrance, at the group of Jedi, who had just entered.

"Look, Ahsoka! It's Master Kenobi." Kriza said excitedly, pointing at a human Jedi Knight near the entrance. Ahsoka turned to look towards the entrance, seeing the auburn haired human, who slowly walked around the atrium.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had become a sort of a legend among the Jedi Order, having been at the center of the _Naboo Crisis_ , around nine years earlier. The Jedi hadn't participated in full scale conflict, since the _Stark Hyperspace War_ , twelve years prior to the Trade Federation's war against Naboo. The _Yinchorri Uprising_ a year prior to the conflict on Naboo was too small to be considered a real conflict, even though the Jedi battled against aggressors on several occasions during it.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with his master Qui-Gon Jinn, had thwarted the Trade Federation's occupation of the small beautiful planet, with the help of Padmé Amidala, who served as Naboo's elected Queen at the time. Master Qui-Gon had died during the conflict, which put his Padawan in even a bigger spotlight. Obi-Wan had served as a Jedi Knight ever since then, and was nearing his inevitable promotion to a Jedi Master.

Next to Obi-Wan, was a younger Jedi with light brown hair, and Padawan braids. Because he had a Padawan studying under him, Obi-Wan was referred as "Master", even though he was a Knight. Kriza gasped quietly again, as she saw the young apprentice next to Obi-Wan.

"Ooh, that must be Anakin Skywalker!" She said to her friend, who had her eyes on the two.

"What are they doing here, I wonder." Ahsoka said quietly. Kriza chuckled slightly at that.

"What do you think? Master Kenobi must be here to meet a new Padawan. I hear that Skywalker's training is nearly complete, so it makes sense." The human girl replied. As Ahsoka turned her head to look at the two human Jedi again, Kriza chuckled quietly.

"You know what? I'll go talk with Master Kenobi... see if I could inquire him about selecting a new Padawan after Skywalker." She said with a smirk. Ahsoka raised her brows again, looking at her friend.

"Seriously? Don't embarrass yourself in front of a Jedi Master, Kriza... you might ruin your chances of becoming his Padawan.. or any master's Padawan for that matter." She said to the young girl, who laughed.

"Don't worry, girlfriend.. I'll be sure to mention you offhandedly." Kriza said with a smirk, nudging Ahsoka's arm, to which she rolled her eyes in response.

Kriza then put her glass down on a nearby table, after which she started to make her way towards Obi-Wan, who was standing around with some other Jedi Masters, including Kit Fisto, Eeth Koth, and Sora Bulq, all of whom had arrived to attend the celebration.

After her friend left, Ahsoka let out a quiet sigh, and took a look at her glass, which was empty. She hummed quietly, and turned around, walking to a nearby table, which had more beverages on it. She put her glass down, and refilled with a jug of carbonated water, flavored with sweeteners.

As she was doing that, a sudden scoff sound next to her got her attention. She turned to look at her right, and could see a human boy in his late teens standing next to him. Ahsoka immediately recognized him being Master Kenobi's Padawan, Anakin Skywalker.

"I didn't even know that these parties existed, up until a few years ago. I always just assumed that every Jedi turned 13 already had a master, like me, and would celebrate their birthday privately with their masters." The young human said, pouring himself a drink as well. Ahsoka quickly looked around, not being sure whether Anakin was talking to her at first. She then opened her mouth, not really knowing how to reply.

"Oh... I.. well, I guess I'd assume that too, if I'd have been under a master for all of my Jedi training." She said, knowing about Anakin's abnormal Jedi training. The human Padawan chuckled at that, turning to face Ahsoka, leaning on the table.

"Yeah.. I'm the oddball of the Jedi Order, aren't I?" Anakin said with a chuckle, looking at the small togruta girl in front of him, who turned towards him as well. The human Jedi then extended his hand.

"I'm sure you already know who I am, which makes this stupid, but I'll do it anyway; I'm Anakin Skywalker... how's it going?" He said with a rather sheepish smile. Ahsoka felt weird, being the target of the attention of such well known Jedi. She bit her lip, shaking Anakin's hand.

"I'm... doing good. I'm Ahsoka, by the way.." She said, shaking the human's hand, who smiled at her.

"That's a pretty name... it suits you. So you turned 13 today, eh?" Anakin asked, leaning against the table again. That question made Ahsoka chuckle.

"Oh, no.. my actual birthday was a little while ago already. Still... a party like this is nice.. even if I'm not the center of the attention." She replied with a laugh. Anakin chuckled as well.

"Would you like this party to be a bit wilder? I know that even though we're Jedi, we still have some built-in needs to be 'normal', I guess.." The young man said. Ahsoka simply shrugged her shoulders.

"I do admit, that having a more 'lively' party would be nice. But I'm fine with this... it's not like I'd need constant partying and stuff. I'm not **that** kind of a girl.." She replied with a smile. Anakin smirked after that, taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh? What kind of a girl are you then?" He asked, which made Ahsoka nearly choke on her drink, as she had not expected that. Was Anakin flirting with her? The young girl cleared her throat, biting her lip.

"I... uh.. a normal girl.. I guess... uh... I.." Ahsoka replied, stuttering as she had no idea, what she should say. Anakin let out a quiet laugh, as he looked at the togruta.

"It's all right.. I wouldn't expect anything different from Jedi... I'm one myself too. But parties like this really make me feel like, that we're the most boring people in the Galaxy.." The Padawan said, taking another sip of his drink, as his gaze went around the atrium. Ahsoka chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah... I suppose so.." She answered, knowing that her cheeks were still red from blushing, as she still could only wonder, if a boy, and a rather good looking one, had just flirted with her.

"Well, I should probably get back to my master... I bet he'll think that I'm spiking these drinks up with alcohol.." Anakin then said, quickly chugging down his drink. He then put the glass down, and looked at Ahsoka, who was fiddling with her lekku, looking down, while smiling sheepishly.

"Try to have some fun, Ahsoka.. it's your birthday party after all. See you again sometime." He said, giving the young girl a wink with his eye, before walking away.

The young togruta girl bit her lip again, hoping that her blushing would disappear. She didn't get the chance to reply to Anakin, as the Padawan made his way back to his master Obi-Wan quicker than she anticipated. Ahsoka then sighed quietly, shaking her head.

"I messed that up, didn't I? Great..." She whispered to herself, thinking that she may have acted too shy and awkward around the dashing young Padawan.

She then finished her carbonic drink, setting the glass down on the nearby table. As she was doing that, Ahsoka could hear quiet footsteps next to her, as well as the sound of wood, hitting the floor.

"A friendly conversation with young Skywalker, did you have, child?" The distinctive raspy voice of a certain Jedi Master asked. Ahsoka nearly had a heart attack, as she jumped slightly, noticing Master Yoda standing next to her.

"Master Yoda! Wow... I.. I had no idea you were there..." She said, catching her breath. The centuries old small sized Jedi Master smiled warmly, looking at her.

"Your mind somewhere else, than at this moment is perhaps? A big celebration this day for you is, undoubtedly. Wonder though, I do, if young Skywalker's presence affected your current thoughts." Yoda said, which made Ahsoka raise her brows, as she calmed down from the slight startle.

"I'm... not following, Master..." She replied quietly. Yoda hummed, looking at her, before moving his gaze to Anakin, who stood near Obi-Wan, a dozen meters away.

"About him what do you think? A sense of admiration, I do sense in you." The Jedi Master said, to which Ahsoka bit her lip.

"Uh.. well.. I... I guess anyone within the Order admires him to some extent. He is a Jedi with an unusual background, and most of us have definitely taken note of that. Not to mention, that he's become really powerful, and skilled.." She explained to the elder Master, who nodded.

"Agree, I do. A person to look up to he is, possibly? Thought about becoming a Padawan in the near future, have you?" Yoda then asked. Ahsoka had no idea, where Master Yoda was getting at, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Well... yes.. I have. Though... why do you ask, Master?" She asked curiously. The green skinned Jedi Master then looked up at her, smiling.

"A master I have found for you. When his training is complete, young Skywalker your Jedi Master could become, yes?" Yoda asked with a smile. Ahsoka's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth.

"What? Are you joking, Master Yoda? Why would he want to become a Master... training me no less?" She asked, looking between the small Master, and Anakin, who stood a small distance away.

"Most Jedi Knights will have a Padawan at least once. Skywalker brash and reckless is, but responsibility and commitment he does have. Training you, stability to him would bring. And a good match you'd make, I believe." Yoda explained, which only confused Ahsoka.

"How do you figure, Master Yoda? I just met him for the first time..." She said, folding her arms. The old master chuckled then.

"The Force a powerful thing is. Your future, lying with him, I sense. Similarities between the two of you, I also sense." Yoda answered with a chuckle. Ahsoka still had no idea, whether the experienced Jedi Master's instincts were right.

"I still don't see a person like Anakin Skywalker, wanting to train a Padawan.." She said quietly. Yoda hummed with a smile.

"Time for it, you should give. At least a year more, will young Skywalker be under Master Kenobi's tutelage. However, in mind, I will keep you, when considering Skywalker's mastership." The old and wise Master said with a smile. Ahsoka rubbed her arm, still not sure.

"I... I'd be thrilled to get a master, and Anakin Skywalker would definitely be an interesting choice. But I don't know if it'd work out..." She replied. Ahsoka wanted to be a Padawan, and she was willing to think, that she could get along with Anakin. But it all seemed surreal and unlikely right now.

"See that, we will, when the time comes. Confident I am of my instincts on this. Now... celebrate you should; a day like this only once comes in your life." Yoda then said, letting out a quiet laugh. Ahsoka chuckled, and nodded her head.

"Yeah... I will. Thank you, Master Yoda." She said, smiling at the old Jedi Master, who returned it.

After that, Yoda slowly walked away, getting help to it from his walking stick. Even though the Jedi Master was over 800 years old, and moved slowly, he was one of the strongest Force users in the Order, as well as one of the best, and most agile lightsaber duelists in the history of the Jedi. Ahsoka often wondered, whether Yoda acted old and weak, in order to hide his true powers from his enemies.

As the Jedi Master left, Ahsoka could then see her friend Kriza returning, her face glimmering with surprise. The young human girl walked to her friend, almost not able to hold her excitement in.

"Holy smokes, Ahsoka! Did you just talk with Anakin Skywalker?" She asked, almost squealing. Ahsoka sighed quietly; she knew what was coming.

"Yeah... I did, Kriza." She replied, to which her friend now did squeal quietly.

"Oh my goodness, Soki! That's so cool! What did he say? Tell me, come on!" Kriza demanded, almost jumping in place. Ahsoka looked around, hoping that no one was seeing that.

"Calm down, Kriza! Don't embarrass us.." She said, feeling embarrassed enough already.

"Seriously, Soki.. tell me! He's such a hot guy, isn't he?" Kriza asked, chuckling. Ahsoka's eyes widened, and she grabbed her friend's arm.

"Kriza! You're not supposed to say that..." She said to the laughing girl, while hoping that no one was hearing their conversation.

"Oh come on, Ahsoka! We might be Jedi, but we're still teenagers... we can think that guys are good looking." Kriza said with a chuckle. Ahsoka rolled her eyes, though beginning to smile as well.

"You're so impossible sometimes, Kriza. And before you ask, no... we didn't talk about anything juicy... you gossiper.." She said to her friend, who couldn't stop smiling.

"Master Yoda talked to you after that... what did he say?" The girl asked, which made Ahsoka sigh again.

"Nothing too important, Kriza. Just about me getting a master in the future.. and Anakin being one of the candidates." She explained, which made her friend gasp again.

"Really!? Ahsoka, that's so cool! Just imagine if he'd become your master. My goodness.. I'd have a really hard time concentrating on studying, if I'd be around him..." Kriza said, fanning her face with her hand, acting to feel heat. That made Ahsoka roll her eyes.

"You're such a walking scandal, Kriza." She said with a laugh. Kriza bit her lip, and winked at Ahsoka.

"Don't deny that you would feel the same, Soki. Just look at him... wouldn't you like to be with a guy like that?" She asked with a smirk. Ahsoka rolled her eyes again.

"Don't be silly, Kriza. I'm a Jedi... we're not supposed to do things like that." She said, to which Kriza scoffed quietly.

"Oh yeah, but somehow plenty of Jedi fall in love, and marry, and have kids, who become Jedi as well..." The girl said with a short chuckle.

Kriza wasn't wrong about that; many Jedi did marry each other, or people outside of the Order, and had children. This was highly frowned upon, and most of the time, said Jedi were exiled by the rest of the Order. The exiled Jedi's children however, were always welcomed to join the Order.

The Jedi viewed affection and attachment as dangerous, as they could lead to compulsiveness, and made it easier for them to fall to the Dark Side. With love came the fear of losing the loved one, and this was the main reason, why the Jedi encouraged celibacy, and discouraged developing any kinds of emotional attachments.

Most Jedi agreed, that the bond between a Jedi Master, and a Padawan, strengthened their resolve and power. However, as losing a Master, or a Padawan, could lead to the same adverse effects as losing a lover, the Jedi also tried to keep these bonds from developing too deep.

In some rare occurrences, the Order allowed Jedi lovers to marry each other, and stay with the rest of them. However, even if the couple were allowed to love each other, the rest of the Order always saw them in a different light, for the rest of their lives.

There hadn't been a case in centuries, were the Jedi Order had allowed lovers to marry. Master Ki-Adi Mundi was the only exception in centuries, as his species the _cereans_ , had experienced catastrophic drops in population, and as such, needed to reproduce as much as they could. Master Mundi had several wives on his homeworld of _Cerea_ , and many more children. Though, it had been decades, since the aged Jedi Master had conceived a child the last time, and as such, his exemption of having a love life, was not often talked among the rest of the Order.

Ahsoka both agreed, and disagreed with the Order's stance on love, and attachment. She knew that affectionate attachment could lead to falling to the Dark Side much easier, but she also felt that the positive effects of love and attachment, could improve a Jedi's performance.

She had never been in romantic love with anyone, so she couldn't really imagine, how she'd be in that situation. Ahsoka was also sure, that since she was a Jedi, she would never even get the chance to feel love. That both scared her, and made her feel relief. As much as it'd be an amazing feeling, she knew, that the adverse effects would be hard to manage.

"Seriously, Soki... I bet you couldn't help yourself, if you'd fall for a guy like Skywalker." Kriza then said, nudging her friend's arm, who shook her head.

"I doubt I'll ever meet a guy like that, Kriza..." Ahsoka replied, to which Kriza scoffed again.

"Just wait, girlfriend... you'll swoon over a guy in the future.. guaranteed." The girl said, winking her eye at the togruta again, who rolled her eyes.

"Sure, Kriza... sure.." Ahsoka said quietly, smiling at her friend.

The two of them returned to "celebrating", going ahead, and talking to the other Jedi in the atrium. The party then continued for a few more hours, being mild and casual like was expected from a Jedi led "party".

 **Present day...**

The tender hands of a togruta placed an empty power cell on a self, next to other sorts of miscellaneous items. Ahsoka smiled, as she placed the item amongst her small collection of both Republic, and Separatist memorabilia. Right next to the power cell, was an old _Phase I_ clone trooper helmet. The first two and a half years of the war, the clone troopers had worn " _Phase I_ " codenamed armors. After that, the massive clone army had upgraded their combat armors, to the more advanced and powerful _Phase II_ versions.

Ahsoka had found the old helmet on Tatooine, like most of the items she had collected. Many scavengers had rounded up them from other planets, and had brought them to Tatooine, in order to sell them for cheap profit. Ahsoka didn't really miss the Republic, or the Jedi, but she sometimes liked to remember back to her time serving in the Order, and fighting battles with clone troopers.

She sighed quietly, smiling as she looked at her small collection. Her eyes wandered to the end of the shelf on the wall, and she smiled wider, as she looked at a small white crystal, sitting on a small display stand. It was a lightsaber crystal she had found in cave, while exploring the massive Tatooine wilderness.

Lightsaber crystals were very rare outside of Ilum; a remote ice planet in the _Unknown Regions_ section of the Galaxy. Ilum had been the main supplier of lightsaber crystals for the Jedi for thousands of years, and all Jedi Initiates travelled there at a certain point in their training, in order to retrieve the crystals, and construct their first lightsabers.

Finding a crystal, especially on Tatooine, was something Ahsoka had never anticipated. It had made her even more curious of this desolate planet, and she wanted to find out, if there were even more secrets that it held inside it.

As she was still eyeing her collection, sudden voices coming out of a small commercial _subspace transceiver_ , or "radio" to most people, got Ahsoka's attention. Tatooine was such a remote planet, that owning a _holotransceiver_ for visual shows was pretty pointless. Ahsoka kept herself up with current events, by having her radio tuned in on Republic broadcasted shows and news.

"Good evening _Coronet_! You are listening in on Coronet News Network; I am Rhodeen Jallis.. thank you for joining me." A human female's voice said through the radio's speakers. Ahsoka chuckled to herself; apparently her radio was tuned in on _Corellia_ 's broadcasts this afternoon.

Corellia was one of the oldest members of the Galactic Republic, the planet having been part of the Senate for nearly 25 **thousand** years. Coronet was the famous planet's capital, and it was evening there at this time, whereas on Tatooine, at the location where Ahsoka was living, it was the early afternoon.

"Due to increased attacks on _Inner Rim_ planets by the Confederacy of Independent Systems; Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has issued an edict, urging massive improvements to the planets' military defenses." The news reporter explained, which made Ahsoka raise her brows. She walked to her radio, turning up the volume, as the topic was interesting.

"On _Onderon_ , Prime Minister Luxentius Bonteri, has declared radical reformations to the planet's defenses. The two Republic military bases on Onderon, will be expanded to five.. allowing the Republic to send in more units to defend the planet..." The reporter continued. Hearing that made Ahsoka raise her brows even further.

Luxentius "Lux" Bonteri was one of her former acquaintances. Ahsoka had met the young human man during the Clone Wars, and had developed a friendship with him, despite him being a Separatist at first.

A little less than a year earlier, Lux, along with dozens of other rebels on Onderon, had asked for the Republic's aid in reclaiming the planet from the Separatists. Ahsoka, her old master Anakin Skywalker, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and CC-7567, a clone captain nicknamed "Rex", shortly after arrived to Onderon, and helped train the rebels to fight the Separatist occupiers.

With their help, the rebels managed to overthrow the puppet government, ruled by a king, who was handpicked to the job by Count Dooku. After the victory, Onderon's former King Dendup took the throne once again. Lux was appointed the planet's senator, and he worked hard in the following months, repairing his homeworld's relations to the Republic.

Around four months ago, King Dendup had passed away from old age. The king's death had come as a surprise, even considering his old and weakening state, and Onderon was thus launched into another chaos amongst its government.

Lux then made a drastic, bold, and unexpected decision. With the help of the Supreme Chancellor, the senator reformed his planet's government, changing it into a purely democratic electorate state. Gone were the days of monarchy, Lux having had started to see such things as ancient, regressive.

With Palpatine's help again, Lux was appointed Onderon's new prime minister, and thus, the leader of the planet. The idealistic young man spent little time waiting, almost immediately making further pacts with the Republic, most of which were militaristic.

Ahsoka felt disappointment, seeing her friend turn into such a person, having been completely blinded with power. In any case, she hadn't been in contact with Lux, ever since Onderon was liberated from the Separatists.

"Prime Minister Bonteri gave the following statement earlier today.." The CNN reporter's voice said, cutting off afterwards. Ahsoka stroked her chin, waiting for her former friend's voice to come through.

"My dear fellow " _Onderonians_ ". Today, I have the utmost pleasure to inform you all, that I have made arrangements with our Republic allies, to further improve our defenses against the Separatist Alliance. Not only will they construct more military bases on our beautiful planet, I have also allowed them to turn Dxun into a powerful fortress moon, which will defend us from any and all future invasions..." Lux's voice said, sounding determined and strong. Ahsoka rolled her eyes, pushing the power button on the radio, turning it off.

"Yeah... good luck with that, pal..." She said quietly to herself.

Only a few seconds later, a strange, muffled explosion sound got Ahsoka's attention. She frowned slightly, wondering where the sound came from. Realizing it was outside, the young togruta quickly walked to a nearby desk, and grabbed a pair of binoculars, that were sitting on it.

Ahsoka quickly made her way outside, walking out her small hut's front door. She walked on the porch, trying to locate the source of the sounds. Then another muffled sound came in, which Ahsoka heard coming from the sky. She looked up, and could see a flaming object, like an asteroid, fall down from the sky.

The object fell to the ground, hitting the sandy dunes several kilometers away from Ahsoka's home. She took out her binoculars, and looked through them, trying to figure out, just what had fallen from the sky.

She looked through the binoculars, locating the object amidst clouds of dust from the crash. As the dust cleared off, Ahsoka could see, that the fallen object was an escape pod. The young togruta woman gasped quietly, as she wondered if the inhabitants of that pod were injured.

Ahsoka quickly ran back inside, putting the binoculars down, and starting to gather some things. She wanted to make her way as quick as possible to the escape pod, to see if she could help, whoever had arrived on it to Tatooine. The nearest inhabited settlements were miles off, so she only felt it to be her civil duty, to help the people, who had arrived with the escape pod.

 **...**

The airtight door of the Separatist escape pod flew off, as its Jedi inhabitant, used the Force to push it away. Anakin Skywalker slowly stepped out of the pod, clutching at his injured stomach. He hissed quietly, as the pain stung him. His dark boots touched down on the sandy surface of Tatooine, pushing off a small amount of dust. The human Jedi sighed in frustration.

"Gah, I hate this planet... why do I always end up here?" He asked himself, before taking a good look around himself, and his surroundings.

Anakin had lived on Tatooine for nearly nine years, and even though he was young back then, he still knew a lot about the planet's geography. He placed his hand over his eyes, shielding them from the bright twin Suns of Tatooine. Anakin could already feel the intense heat of the desert get to him; it had been years since he was last here, so he was not used to the heat anymore.

"Okay... where am I..." He said to himself, looking around, trying to locate any and all natural landmarks. He noticed two small mountains in the horizon, which made him hum quietly.

"Well.. those are definitely the _Drifter's Mountains_... so Anchorhead must be somewhere nearby..." He said quietly, before sighing.

"And it also means that I'm near _Tusken Raider_ territory..." The young Jedi said with a sigh, shaking his head.

Tusken Raiders, called "Sand People" by some, were Tatooine's indigenous people, along with the small sized scavengers, _Jawas_. They were infamously known as nomadic raiders, attacking more civilized settlements with their small tribes. Nowadays Tusken Raider attacks were rarer, as Tatooine's settlements had built better defenses, but still every now and then, a tribe of them would attack a small moisture farm, and either kill or kidnap its inhabitants.

Anakin had extremely bad experiences with the Sand People. Just before the start of the Clone Wars, he had returned to Tatooine, to seek out his mother, Shmi Skywalker. Anakin had seen nightmares of his mother dying, and was determined to find her, and keep her safe. He had arrived too late, however, as a tribe of Tusken Raiders had kidnapped her.

Anakin did find his mother, but was too late again. Shmi died in his arms, having been tortured to death by the savage Sand People. That had lunged Anakin into a fit of rage, and he was touched by the Dark Side for the first time. He had slaughtered the entire tribe of the Sand People, that had killed his mother, all the way down to every small child, and defenseless woman.

Anakin had not even thought about it; the Dark Side had taken control of him, as it often did with enraged Force users. After the massacre, Anakin had returned Shmi's body to his new stepfamily. He had then vowed never to return to Tatooine, as the memory of his mother's death, and the aftermath of it, were too painful for the young man.

Anakin then raised his left arm, taking a look at the small comlink device attached to his outfit. He pressed a few buttons on it, trying to get it to work.

"R2? R2, do you copy? Hello...?" He spoke to the device, but did not receive any answer. His comlink had no doubt been broken in the crash.

The human Jedi then sighed long again, thinking to himself. He then started to walk towards West, not exactly sure which way he should head to. He knew that the small city of Anchorhead was nearby, but he didn't know in which direction.

"Well... if I don't find shelter soon, it'll be the end of me. I always knew I'd die in the desert..." He said to himself, finding irony in the situation. How fitting, that he'd meet his fate on the planet that he hated most...

 **...**

Astromech droid R2-D2, silently stood in a corner of the Invisible Hand's main hangar bay. The small, white and blue colored droid, had hidden himself from the patrolling droids, which were walking around the hangar.

The Separatist battle droids had already gone through the two Eta-2 starfighters, that R2's owner Anakin, and the now deceased Huon Deretius had arrived with. Huon's astromech droid, R5-S1, had been blasted into tiny pieces by the battle droids. R2 had avoided destruction, by hiding just before the Separatists had arrived to the hangar bay.

Now the small droid was waiting, and looking for any opportunity to get back to Anakin's starfighter. R2's dome head moved around, looking around. A small patrol of B1 battle droids walked near some " _Vulture_ " droid starfighters, not paying attention to the abandoned Eta-2 fighter.

R2 then quickly put down his small wheels, and started to move towards the fighter. The astromech droid speeded at the Eta-2, reaching it in a short moment. R2 immediately then took out two small rocket boosters from his "legs", and activated them. The droid jumped up, and landed on the fighter, placing himself in its droid socket.

R2 looked around again, before connecting himself with the fighter, activating its systems remotely. The astromech droid activated the Eta-2's engines, firing them up. The B1 battle droids nearby heard that, and turned to look at the fighter.

"Hey! Who gave you permission to use that vehicle?" One of the droids asked, thinking that R2 was a Separatist astromech droid. The battle droids then approached the fighter, R2 not responding to them.

"Wait a minute... it's a Republic droid! Blast him!" Another one of the droids exclaimed, before raising its laser rifle. The droids opened fire on R2, and the ship, but their shots were deflected, as the astromech droid had activated the ship's deflector shields.

R2 brought the fighter up, powering its engines. The droids kept shooting at it, to no effect. R2 then quickly turned the Eta-2 around, and pushed it towards the hangar bay's exit. The fighter flew in great speed out of the hangar bay, successfully escaping.

The astromech droid immediately activated the ship's transmitter, trying to contact Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was able to connect to the Jedi Master after a moment of looking for connection.

"Anakin? Is that you?" Obi-Wan's voice asked, coming through the transmission. R2 answered with several short beeps.

"R2? Where's Anakin? Is he safe?" The Jedi Master said, being worried about his former apprentice. The astromech droid replied with several beeps again, explaining the situation to the Jedi in the _Binary_ language, that most droids spoke.

"He escaped Grievous' ship? Okay... where are you then?" Obi-Wan asked, to which R2 answered, after noticing the desert planet nearby.

"Tatooine? Alright... that'll complicate things. Okay, R2... make your way down to the planet, and find Anakin. I'll consult the Jedi Council, and figure out, how we can come get you both out of there..." The Jedi Master replied, after which the astromech answered with an acknowledging beep.

"Okay, good. Stay sharp, R2... Obi-Wan out.." The human Jedi said, before ending transmission with R2, who then steered the fighter towards the desert planet.

R2 would have to land on Tatooine anyway, as the Eta-2 fighter didn't possess a hyperdrive, meaning that it could not travel in hyperspace. The Eta-2s, as well as the previous Jedi flown fighters, the Delta-7, and Delta-7Bs, had to rely on "hyperdrive rings", which were simple hyperspace fitted engines, that could be attached to the fighters, allowing them to travel in hyperspace.

As the fighter approached the desert planet, the sensor radar inside the ship's cockpit started beeping. Droid starfighters were approaching the Eta-2. R2 had to think of something quickly, as he looked behind the fighter, and saw two Droid Tri-Fighters approaching.

The heavy hitting droid fighters flew behind the Jedi starfighter, opening fire with their powerful laser cannons. R2 tried to do evasive maneuvers, but only a few moments later, the droids managed to hit the ship. A shot pierced the Eta-2's left wing, another hitting the left engine.

The Eta-2 went into a sudden spiral, R2 losing all control of it. The droid fighters flew past it, making their way back to the Invisible Hand, having completed their objective. R2 screeched loudly, as the starfighter he piloted spun around uncontrollably, and fell towards Tatooine's atmosphere.

Flames started to surround the ship, as it hit the planet's atmosphere. R2 had no success in trying to stabilize the ship; it was a lost cause. Helplessly, the small astromech droid stayed in its socket, as the ship around him fell towards the sandy surface of the desolate desert planet.

 **...**

The doors to the command bridge of the Invisible Hand slid open, the cyborg General Grievous stepping in. The Separatist general let out a low hum, looking out of the bridge's large windows.

"Did we shoot down the Jedi starfighter, that attempted to escape?" Grievous asked the neimoidian captain, who quickly nodded.

"Yes, General. Our Tri-fighters damaged it enough to make it plunge down to the planet.." The Captain explained. Grievous chuckled quietly, walking away from the windows.

"Good. Bring the ship around, and get us back to Separatist space... the Hutts will know that we were here, sooner than later. And if the Republic wishes to get Skywalker back, they'll have to go through the Hutts first..." Grievous said, chuckling menacingly, before slowly stepping out of the bridge.

The neimoidian captain of the ship then ordered the bridge personnel around, having the Invisible Hand fire up its engines, and slowly leave the desert planet Tatooine behind it.

The Republic had established an uneasy alliance with the _Hutt Empire_ , or known as _Hutt Space_ to most of the people of the Galaxy, early on in the Clone Wars. However, this relationship had gradually deteriorated during the course of the war, and reached its breaking point a few months earlier. Now, Republic forces were not allowed anywhere near the borders of Hutt Space, in the fear that it would cause war between the two factions.

The Hutts weren't friendly with the Separatists either, having seen that the Confederacy wasn't worthy of their trust, just like the Republic had proven to be untrustworthy as well. This would make getting Anakin off of Tatooine difficult, as the planet was under the rule of Jabba the Hutt, who was one of the leaders of the _Hutt Cartel_ ; the most powerful criminal syndicate in the Galaxy, and the de facto leading body of the autonomous Hutt Space.

 **...**

A strong gust of wind blew some dust in Ahsoka's face. She covered her face with her hand, coughing a bit, as some sand got in her mouth. Tatooine's climate was not to her liking, but she had gotten used to it. The planet she was born on, _Shili_ , was the home of her species. Shili wasn't too different from Tatooine, being an arid planet. Although, Shili's climate never came even close to what the desert planet Ahsoka was now living on got in its worst.

The young former Jedi had arrived to the crashed escape pod, having come as quick as she could. She hummed quietly, as she looked around, not seeing any people, who would've arrived on the pod.

The togruta girl looked to the sandy ground, noticing faint footprints on it. She crouched down near the trail, her hand touching one of them. She let her fingers trace along the footprint, and closed her eyes. Ahsoka immersed herself in the Force, allowing it to help her determine, just which direction the person had walked off to, as the footprints stopped after a short distance.

Ahsoka took a deep breath, her eyes closed. The aura of the Force surrounded her, giving her a comfortable feeling of warmth. She didn't use the Force often anymore, but every time she did in a way like this, she began to miss her former life of a Jedi. She didn't especially miss the Jedi Council, as she still felt, that they had abandoned her. But she missed many of the Jedi, who still served in the Order, especially people like Obi-Wan and Kriza.

Kriza had become the Padawan of Agen Kolar, around a year after Ahsoka had become an apprentice herself. She hadn't been in contact with her friend, ever since she left the Order, and she often wondered, where one of her oldest friends was now, and how she had been.

But above all, Ahsoka missed her old master the most; Anakin. He was the only person, who never lost hope or confidence in her; he never questioned her, never doubted her abilities, and never lost trust in her. Because of Anakin, Ahsoka was able to prove her innocence, when her former friend Barriss Offee, had framed her for murder.

The fact that Anakin never stopped believing in her, and fought to the end, to prove her innocence, was why Ahsoka missed him the most. Not to mention, the extremely powerful bond they shared, which grew stronger and stronger with every year they fought together in the Clone War.

Ahsoka had spent weeks, crying herself to sleep, over the regret of leaving the Jedi Order, and leaving the person behind, whom she cared most about. It had taken months for her to accept the fact, that she'd never see him, or any of her old friends again.

After months, she came to terms with it, and had become happier again. Finally, after many months, she had accepted her new life, and tried to make the best of it. But still, whenever she immersed herself in the Force, all the memories came back to her, and she felt sorrow.

Ahsoka could feel something strange, as she sought through the Force, the trail of the person, who had arrived on the escape pod. She felt a familiar aura, something that she could swear she had felt many times before. The feeling was strange, comforting, warm, filling her with a sense of security. Only one person had made her feel like this before, and that person would never travel to Tatooine again.

She found the trail, the Force helping her to see it in her mind. She then opened her eyes, the feeling she had felt for a moment disappearing. The girl sighed long, standing up.

"Oh, _Skyguy_... if only I could be around you again... I had forgotten how much I loved to feel the way I did with you.." She said quietly to herself, feeling sadness, as the warmth and security she had felt before, disappeared.

The way she felt about Anakin was because of the Force Bond they shared. It was mutual trust, attachment and love, all put together in one. It strengthened every Jedi's resolve and power, their entire being. If Ahsoka could take just one thing back from her old life, it would be to feel the bond she had with her master again...

The togruta girl then took a deep breath, not wanting to think about such things right now. She had to find the person, who was on the crashed escape pod; they could be injured, and needing of help.

There was a possibility of Tusken Raiders being around as well, which only made Ahsoka feel even more stress. She couldn't let an innocent person be kidnapped, or worse, by the savage tribesmen.

Ahsoka then put on her hood again, starting to head in the direction of the trail, that she felt through the Force. She could swear, that the person she was seeking, was Force sensitive as well; there was no way, that she could feel such aura in the air, if it didn't come from a fellow Force user, who was possibly a Jedi in need of help.

Sun had started to come down, which only increased Ahsoka's stress. She'd need to find the person before sunset, or they'd both be in danger, being stranded in the perilous deserts of Tatooine, and at the mercy of its many predators, and the Sand People.

 **...**

The sun was setting bringing darkness to the vast sand dunes of Tatooine. Anakin slowly walked in a small canyon, constantly looking around, to see if he was being followed. He was in a precarious position, not knowing whether he was in the middle of Tusken Raider territory, or heading towards civilization.

"I love my master, yes I do.. he gives me shelter, he gives me food..." The human Jedi Knight sung quietly, the song being one of the many songs that his fellow slaves sung, when he used to live as a one on Tatooine, nearly thirteen years ago.

"But if I cross the line, it's my doom... cause he'll then make my head go ' **boom** '..." Anakin finished the little hymn, before looking over his shoulder.

It had suddenly gotten quiet, not even the wind making any kind of sound. The young human man bit his lip, stopping in his tracks. He clutched at his stomach, the wound getting more painful. He began sensing approaching life forms through the Force. Whether they were animals, or sentient beings, remained a mystery, and the Jedi Knight wasn't very eager to find out, just what was coming his way.

Anakin moved his hand to his waist, grabbing his lightsaber's hilt. He looked around again, not seeing anyone near him. Then, he could hear an eerily familiar sound; the howling yell of a Tusken Raider...

The Jedi looked to the top of the canyon, seeing multiple Sand People looking down at him. Anakin activated his lightsaber, the blue blade illuminating the darkening area. The Tusken Raiders didn't seem to care, that he was a Jedi. They probably had followed him for a time, and seen that he was injured, and as such, wouldn't be a big danger.

The Raiders then disappeared from the top of the small canyon, likely making their way down, so that they could attack Anakin, who simply stood still, waiting for them. After a few short moments, the masked men appeared again, slowly walking towards the Jedi Knight.

As Anakin prepared himself, he could suddenly hear another howl behind him. He turned around, and saw more Tusken Raiders, approaching him from the behind. The primitive warriors were swinging their traditional " _gaderffii_ ", or " _gaffi stick_ " weapons, which were a hybrid of a poking spear, and a blunt pole arm.

The Tusken Raiders surrounded Anakin, howling at each other. There were six of them, an amount that would pose no danger to the Jedi Knight, had he not have been injured. Anakin raised his blade, his gaze moving between the warriors.

The Tusken Raiders didn't attack him, which only agitated Anakin further. The last time he had faced the masked warriors, was when his mother died, and after which he had massacred an entire tribe of them.

He clenched his teeth together, and lunged at one of the warriors, who dodged his attack. Anakin then swung his blade at another Tusken Raider, who also dodged it. The young Jedi Knight had become slow, because of his injury. One of the warriors hit Anakin's shin with the blunt end of his gaffi stick, making the Jedi grunt slightly. Anakin swung his lightsaber at the warrior, missing again.

A Tusken Raider behind him, suddenly attacked him with the spear end of the gaffi stick. The sharp pick impaled Anakin's back, making him hiss in pain. He stepped forward, lunging at another Tusken Raider, who again dodged him, and after that, hit his side with the blunt end of the weapon.

The Sand People seemed to be toying with him, not killing him, or incapacitating him outright. Then, one of the warriors got bolder, attacking Anakin from the front, impaling his chest now, with the gaffi stick's spear. Anakin clenched his teeth together, as the pain sunk in. However, he suddenly grabbed the Tusken Raider's weapon, holding it in place. He then let out a small yell, swinging his lightsaber at the warrior with his free hand. The blade sliced through the Tusken Raider's neck, cutting his head right off his shoulders.

After the dead Tusken Raider fell on the ground, the others fell silent. As Anakin looked between them, they suddenly all roared loudly, being enraged at the Jedi, who had just killed one of their brethren.

The warriors all not began hitting Anakin with the blunt ends of the gaffi stick. The five Sand People overwhelmed him, not giving him any chance to defend himself. Anakin lost the hold of his lightsaber, as he fell on one knee. The Sand People kept beating him with their weapons, making him stay down. One of the warriors then kicked him in his stomach, making the young Jedi fall on his side. The Tusken Raiders then kept beating him down, bruising his entire body.

After a short moment of continuous beating, one of the warriors raised his gaffi stick up high, before bringing it down in force, hitting Anakin's head. The Jedi was knocked out, immediately falling unconscious. The Tusken Raiders noticed that, seeing that Anakin wasn't reacting to their attacks anymore, his body completely limp.

The warriors then looked at each other, before they all raised their gaffi stick over their heads. The Sand People howled loudly over their fallen prey, signaling that a death blow was near. The five warriors then looked at Anakin again, and turned their gaffi sticks' sharp end at him, every one of them planning to impale the downed Jedi simultaneously, which would kill him rather quickly.

As the Sand People brought their weapons down, only inches away from impaling the Jedi Knight, a loud, thundering sound was heard. In a second, the warriors were suddenly violently pushed by an invisible force, sending them flying back, away from Anakin's body. The Tusken Raiders rolled on the ground for a meter or two, all of them no doubt being confused, of what just had happened.

The lightsaber hilt next to Anakin then suddenly flew of the ground, quickly flying through the air, and landing on the hand of a dark hooded female figure. The person activated the lightsaber, the blue blade now being a bright light source, in the dark canyon.

The Tusken Raiders slowly got up, their masked faces gazing upon the sudden attacker. The robed figure brought the activated lightsaber down to her side, before suddenly jumping high in the air. The assailant spun around in the air, travelling several meters forward in a second. The attacked landed on the sandy ground, immediately striking down a Tusken Raider, who was still trying to get up.

The other four Sand People got up, howling at the female attacker, and grabbing their weapons. One of the warriors attacked, trying to impale the female, who spun around again, and swung the blade at the Tusken Raider, slicing through his chest. She immediately then turned around, and impaled another warrior's chest, who had tried to attack her.

She then suddenly threw the lightsaber off her hand, throwing it at one of the two Tusken Raiders left. The blade struck the warrior's throat, killing him. The Force using attacker then pulled the sword back, preparing for the final Tusken Raider, who lunged at her, roaring loudly.

She athletically dodged the attack, grabbing the gaffi stick with her left hand. She then turned the lightsaber blade towards the masked warrior, before driving it through his throat. The Tusken Raider stayed still, the female attacker sure that his face was frozen in a surprised state.

The female figure then deactivated the lightsaber, allowing the dead Tusken Raider to fall on the ground. She looked around at the carnage she had caused, letting out a long sigh of relief. She then looked at the lightsaber in hand for a few long seconds, before suddenly frowning her face.

"Wait... this lightsaber..." She said quietly to herself. After staring at the lightsaber for a moment, studying it, she came to a startling realization. She turned around, looking at the downed Jedi a few meters away from her. The female then took off her hood, revealing her distinct togruta head and face.

"No... it can't be.." Ahsoka whispered to herself, before quickly walking to the unconscious man, who lied face down on the ground.

The young togruta crouched down, placing the lightsaber hilt on the ground, as she slowly turned the human Jedi around. Ahsoka bit her lip, as she dusted off some sand from the human man's body and face. She gently moved a set of hair aside from the Jedi's face, after which her heart jumped to her throat. She gasped loudly, and moved her hand in front of her mouth, as she looked at the unconscious human.

"Anakin!?" Ahsoka said loudly, as she recognized the young man to be her former Jedi Master. Her breathing got heavier, and she began to frantically try to wake the human up.

"Anakin? Anakin! Please wake up!" She pleaded, but the human man stayed unconscious. The togruta girl then looked around Anakin's body, her hands moving over his bleeding wounds.

"Oh no... I need to get you out of here.." She said quietly, before taking a small remote device from her pocket. She activated the device, which was the remote for her speeder bike's autopilot. Ahsoka then returned her attention towards Anakin, framing his face with her hands.

"Hold on, Anakin... I'll get you out of here. By the Force, just hold on..." She pleaded again, breathing heavily, as her thumbs rubbed the human's cheeks.

Ahsoka stayed by her former master for the next few minutes, waiting for her speeder bike to arrive, with which she could take Anakin to her home, and begin to treat his wounds. The young togruta girl was shocked, confused, scared, and overwhelmingly happy, all at the same time.

She could not believe, that her old master, arguably the most important person in her life, was lying in her arms now. She had to save Anakin; she could not leave her former master in danger. Ahsoka was scared, but determined to do everything she could, to treat Anakin back to health. He was everything to her at one point, and she'd be damned, not to help him at a time like this.

 **...**

The Venator-class star destroyer named _Vigilance_ , flew through the blue colored tunnels of hyperspace, moving at speeds far greater, than the speed of light. On the ship's command bridge, High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, alongside the ship's commanding officer, Admiral Wulf Yularen, stood around a circular hologram emitter, being in the middle of transmission with the Jedi High Council.

"That definitely is a complicated matter, Master Kenobi..." Jedi Master Ki-Adi Mundi said, sitting down on his seat in the Council. Obi-Wan had explained the Jedi Council the situation about Anakin, and how he was stranded in Hutt controlled space.

"The Hutts haven't been friendly towards us for months, Obi-Wan... I don't know if we can send in a rescue team for Skywalker, considering our current standing with Jabba the Hutt.." Master _Mace Windu_ , one of the most respected and powerful Jedi in all of the Order's history, said calmly, his hands crossed in a diplomatic manner. Obi-Wan sighed, nodding his head.

"I know... but we can't just leave Anakin fend for himself. He faced down Grievous; there's a chance that he was injured in that battle.." The bearded human Jedi Master explained, to which Master Yoda hummed quietly.

"Young Deretius killed by Grievous was... his death through the Force, I sense.." The elder Jedi said in a quiet, sad voice. Obi-Wan sighed again, agreeing.

"Yes... which makes it more likely, that Anakin was injured by Grievous as well.. and which is why we can't wait; we have to get to Tatooine, and help him." He pleaded with his fellow Council members, who all looked at each other for a few long moments.

"Perhaps we could negotiate with the Supreme Chancellor? We could maybe convince Jabba the Hutt, to seek out Skywalker, and return him to us." The masked _kel dor_ Jedi Master _Plo Koon_ suggested, looking at Master Yoda and Windu.

"I don't know if the Chancellor would be able to negotiate such things with the Hutts. But.. I suppose we can always try." Mace Windu said with a sigh. Obi-Wan didn't know, if such things could work either, but they had to try.

"We have to try, Masters... we can't abandon Anakin." He said, feeling extreme worry for his former Padawan. The rest of the Council could see that clearly.

"Careful you should be, not to let your attachment for Skywalker cloud your judgment, Obi-Wan. Despair to Dark Side will lead..." Master Yoda reminded the experienced Jedi, who sighed, and nodded.

"Yes, Master.." He responded, bowing his head slightly. Mace Windu then nodded, leaning back on his seat.

"Come back to the Temple, Obi-Wan... we will discuss more about this later." The dark skinned human Jedi ordered, to which Obi-Wan nodded in acknowledgment.

"May the Force be with you." Master Yoda finished, after which the hologram of the Jedi Council disappeared. Obi-Wan immediately then sighed deeply, leaning on the holographic emitter table. Admiral Yularen cleared his throat next to him.

"Sir, if I may? I've heard well sourced rumors from the Senate, that Chancellor Palpatine is planning on an attack against the Hutts. If diplomacy won't work... then I suppose that this would be an opportunity for us to get General Skywalker off of Tatooine." The elder human Admiral said, which only made Obi-Wan feel more unsure.

"Yeah... it would be an opportunity. But do we really need even more war?" He asked the Admiral, before turning around, and starting to walk his way off the star destroyer's bridge.

Yularen stood still for a moment, thinking on the Jedi Master's words, before humming quietly, and walking away from the hologram table, and making his way back to the bridge's main section, continuing to oversee and command the capital ship.

 **...**

The door to Ahsoka's small house on Tatooine opened, and the young togruta girl stepped in, grunting as she dragged Anakin's unconscious body with her. She made her way to her living room, setting Anakin's body down on the small couch. Ahsoka panted, as dragging her old master was a physically demanding job.

The young togruta took a deep breath, crouching down next to the unconscious human Jedi. She looked up and down Anakin's body, trying to think of what to do. Her hand moved on his stomach, going over the two wounds, one of which was bleeding.

"Okay... okay, I got this.." She said to herself, rubbing her forehead. Ahsoka then moved her hands on Anakin's waist, beginning to take off his Jedi armor and shirt. It was extremely complicated, especially since the human Jedi Knight was unconscious, not making Ahsoka's job any easier.

After a moment, she successfully took off his clothes on his upper body, revealing his bruised bare torso. The young togruta bit her lip, seeing all the bruises and wounds on Anakin's chest and upper body. Her hand gently moved on the human's chest, and down to his stomach. She sighed, as she saw the two wounds, one from the Tusken Raider gaffi stick, and another, which looked like a blaster shot wound.

"How did this happen..." She asked quietly, not expecting any answer from Anakin. As she touched the bleeding wound, Anakin shivered.

Ahsoka looked at him, and moved her hand on his forehead. It was as hot as a furnace, which made the young girl's eyes widen. Anakin was running a fever; the blaster wound must have already been infected.

Ahsoka then quickly got up, and headed for a small cabinet, opening it. She didn't possess much medical equipment, as she never expected to come across something like this, but she did have some items, which would help. The young girl cursed herself, for not having any training in healing through the Force, but there was no way, that she could have ever anticipated this.

Ahsoka gathered medical equipment from her drawers, cabinets and other storage compartments, taking anything that could help her in treating Anakin's injuries. After a moment, she had gathered everything, and quickly made her way back to the human Jedi.

She crouched down again, setting her items down on the small table near the couch. She took a piece of absorbent cotton, and a bottle of disinfectant. Ahsoka opened the bottle, and dipped the cotton piece in it. She quickly first wiped off all the excess blood from Anakin's torso, before gently disinfecting both the bleeding wound, and the blaster shot wound.

As she was doing that, the young togruta then also noticed, that Anakin's back was bleeding. She sighed long, knowing that this would take a while. But she had to do it; she'd never forgive herself, if she didn't help her former teacher.

 **...**

The small astromech droid R2-D2, quietly rolled away from the flaming wreck of an Eta-2 starfighter, with which he had crashed on Tatooine several minutes earlier. The droid had crashed the ship in the middle of a large canyon, dozens of kilometers away from any kind of civilization.

The sun had already set, bringing darkness and cold to the empty desert. The astromech droid moved forward, the small wheels in his legs making him roll on slowly. The droid constantly looked around himself, anticipating something bad to happen.

As he slowly moved forward, R2 could suddenly hear several faint voices nearby. He moved his dome head around, unable to locate the source of the sound. The droid whistled to himself, continuing to roll with his wheels. The sounds became more frequent, making the astromech droid look around even more. Something was following him.

Suddenly, out of a small cave, two small hooded figures emerged, shouting something in an alien language. The figures pointed an ion blaster at R2, shooting the surprised astromech droid. The droid's systems were overloaded, making R2's head spin around. With a shocked screech, R2 succumbed to the ion blast, and fell back, his metallic barrel-like body hitting the hard ground.

The small robed figures were Jawas, famous droid and technology scavengers, who often traded their scavenged wares with Tatooine's residents. The small aliens said something to each other, before one of them yelled out, urging other Jawas to arrive to the scene as well.

Dozens of the small aliens surrounded R2's deactivated body, before picking him up. The group then carried the Republic owned astromech away, most likely intending to sell him to an unsuspecting buyer later on. Jawas were infamous for selling stolen items, and more than often, their sold droids would break, shortly after selling them to their customers. R2 was not broken in any way, but there was no telling, to whom the small scavengers would sell him.

 **...**

Anakin lied down on the couch in Ahsoka's home, still being mostly unconscious. The young togruta girl was in her kitchen, working on a herbal beverage, which would help with the human Jedi's fever. Ahsoka had gotten training in herbalism, when she was still with the Jedi Order. Using plants and herbs as medicine was part of a Jedi's basic training, as it would no doubt come in handy sometimes.

Ahsoka poured recently boiled water into a small cup, which had several herbs grinded in it. After she filled the cup, Ahsoka took a glance back at Anakin, who moved slightly on the couch. She then took the cup, and walked back to the living room, crouching down next to the human Jedi.

She had successfully disinfected and bandaged all of Anakin's wounds, as well as relieved some of the bruising on his body with cold water bags. She had then began working on the herbal beverage, which she had now completed. She looked at her former Jedi Master with saddened eyes, sighing.

"Come on, Anakin... drink this.." Ahsoka said quietly, her left hand gently rubbing Anakin's cheek. The young human man was barely conscious, his eyes opening and closing constantly. He was delirious from the fever as well, most likely not knowing, what was going on.

"...mother..." The young human whispered deliriously. Ahsoka sighed, and moved the cup to his face.

"Come on... you can do it.." She said, her finger moving to the human's mouth, and opening it. As Anakin mumbled something, Ahsoka gently moved the cup to his lips, and began slowly pouring its contents in his mouth.

Anakin quickly drank the herbal tea, swallowing them. After that, he coughed for a few times, the beverage having most likely tasted bad. A slight smile appeared on Ahsoka's face then, as she placed the empty cup down on the table. She moved closer to Anakin, framing his face.

"There you go. You'll feel better in a few hours... I promise.." She whispered with a slight smile, her thumb rubbing Anakin's cheek. The human Jedi mumbled in response, his eyes closed.

Ahsoka sighed long, feeling how a single tear formed around her eye. This whole event had gotten her extremely worried, and now that she had been able to treat Anakin, she could finally relax, and that was getting her emotional.

She hadn't seen her old master for over nine months, and she had never even expected to meet him again. Being in the same room as him right now, was both an amazing feeling for her, as well as the source for a lot of stress.

The girl moved her head to Anakin's, pressing her forehead against his. Her fingers traced on his cheeks, one of them moving over his lips. The single tear from her eye dropped on his forehead, rolling down.

"I never even imagined to see you again... and now that you're here.. I have no idea about what I should do..." She whispered to the young man, who had fallen asleep. Ahsoka swallowed audibly, trying to hold in her emotions. She took a deep breath, moving her face away from Anakin's

"I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight... Skyguy.." She said quietly, her hand moving through Anakin's hair quickly, before she got up, letting the young human man sleep.

Ahsoka then turned her head to look at a nearby table, on which two lightsaber hilts rested. Next to the hilts, was a set of silka beads, crafted into a braid. They belonged to her, and she had found them on Anakin's belongings.

The young togruta made her way to the table, eyeing the lightsabers, as well as the braids. She picked up the lightsaber hilt next to Anakin's, studying it in her hands. It was her old lightsaber, the one she had built almost six years ago. Ahsoka had wielded this weapon throughout the Clone War, but had lost it, when she was on the run from the Republic, nine months prior. She had also lost her short lightsaber, often called a _shoto_ , during her escape as well.

Anakin had apparently recovered her lightsaber, and utilized in the months following her departure. Ahsoka wondered, why her Master had kept her lightsaber, or her Padawan braids. Perhaps he missed her, and these items reminded him of her? She did not know, but seeing the items right now, brought a sense of relief, and slight happiness to Ahsoka.

The togruta girl then pushed the lightsaber's activation button with her finger, the green laser blade rising out of the hilt. She looked at the blade, the low sound emitting from it, and filling her ears with it. She swung the saber around twice, before deactivating it again.

Ahsoka set the hilt down on the table again, now turning her gaze to the small set of silka beads, which she had used as her Padawan braid. She took the braid off the table, looking at it for a few moments, before chuckling quietly.

"Never thought I'd see these again..." She said to herself, placing the braid down on the table again as well.

She then turned back to look at Anakin, who was shivering slightly again. Ahsoka quickly walked to another room, before returning to the living room, having a small blanket in her arms. She walked to the couch, where Anakin was sleeping on, and crouched down again.

Ahsoka pulled the blanket over the human Jedi, giving him some warmth and comfort. She then gently touched the young man's cheek again, smiling at him.

"Sleep well..." She said, standing up again, and walking away.

Ahsoka made her way to her bedroom, preparing for the night as well. With luck, Anakin would feel better tomorrow, and she could have a good, and lenghty conversation with him. They certainly had a lot to caught up with.

Outside of her small hut, the night fell on the sandy dunes of Tatooine, darkening the desolate planet in its shroud, and letting the nighttime animals and predators, emerge from their hiding places.


	4. Chapter 3: A Bond Rekindled

**Chapter 3: A Bond Rekindled**

 **Three years earlier...**

The low, thundering sound of distant explosions, caught Ahsoka's attention, as she was sitting on a small bed, inside a military tent. The young togruta Jedi hummed quietly, returning to fiddle with a small box in her hands.

She and her Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker, were currently on the planet Ord Mantell. Her Master had recently lost a space battle above this very planet, which pawed way for the Separatists to take control of it. He and Ahsoka, along with the 501st Legion, had in turn invaded the planet around a week ago, bringing in some sorely needed reinforcements.

They had managed to drive back the Separatists, and were now besieging their last stronghold on the planet; pounding their fortress with heavy artillery, and air strikes. This had taken longer than expected however, and the Republic army was now stranded in a war of attrition with the Confederacy.

It was late in the night, and Ahsoka knew, that her master would want her to be asleep already. Anakin had been out fighting for several hours, and his young togruta Padawan had stayed up, waiting for him.

After a few minutes, the tent's door opened, and Ahsoka's master stepped in. A wide smile appeared on the girl's face, as the weathered Jedi Knight walked further in, breathing slightly heavy. Anakin was covered in muck and dirt, likely having been fighting in the muddy trenches for hours.

"Hey there.." Ahsoka said to her master with a smile. Anakin, who hadn't noticed her sitting on the bed, frowned slightly, as he wiped off some sweat on his forehead.

"Why are you still up, Ahsoka?" He asked, walking to his own bed, which was placed next to Ahsoka's. The two of them shared a tent, which had better living quarters, and better equipment and appliances in it, as Anakin was the commanding officer of the 501st Legion.

"I wanted to wait for you, Master. Here... let me.." Ahsoka said, before quickly getting up from her bed, grabbing a small cloth, and sitting down next to Anakin. She smiled, and began wiping off dirt on the human Jedi's face.

"I thought I told you, that I'd come back late... you shouldn't have stayed up, _Snips_.." Anakin said in a tired voice. "Snips" was the nickname, that he had given his young Padawan. Ahsoka chuckled, and rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Skyguy... it's not like I'm five years old. And besides... I had a good reason.." She replied, biting her lip. As Anakin raised his eyebrow, his Padawan made her way back to her bed, picking up the small box. Ahsoka then walked back to her master, sitting down on his bad again, handing him the box.

"Here... Happy Life Day!" She said cheerily, as her master looked at the box.

"What..? Life Day?" Anakin asked, his eyebrows raised. Ahsoka rolled her eyes, and giggled, nudging her master's arm.

"Yeah, Skyguy... it's Life Day tonight. I guess all the droid scrapping made you forget about that, hmm?" She said with a smirk. Anakin still had his eyebrows raised.

Life Day was an annual day of celebration, being held all around the Galaxy. The exact origins of the day were a mystery, but the _wookiees_ on their homeworld of _Kashyyyk_ , had celebrated it for thousands of years. The Galactic Republic had made it a government sponsored celebratory event around 4000 years ago, and thus, Life Day was nowadays celebrated on thousands of worlds.

"Oh... uh.. I guess so... hadn't really thought about that. But... why did you get me a gift..?" He asked his apprentice, who simply chuckled.

"Duh! People give each other gifts on Life Day. Of course I wanted to give my lovely Master a present." Ahsoka replied, smiling wholeheartedly. Anakin bit his lip slightly.

"Uh... but.. I didn't get **you** anything, Snips.." He answered, which made Ahsoka wave her hand offhandedly.

"That's okay, Skyguy... it's not like you **have** to get me a present. Now open it!" She said with a giggle, eagerly waiting for Anakin to open the box.

The human Jedi still felt a bit weird about it, but opened the small box nonetheless. Inside the box, was a small, transparent crystal. Anakin picked up the crystal, looking at it with curiosity.

"What is it?" He asked his Padawan, who smiled.

"It's a meditation crystal used by the _Baran Do_. Master Plo once took me to _Dorin_ , and we visited one of the monk temples there." Ahsoka explained, as her master studied the small crystal in his hand.

The Baran Do were a Force using monastic order on Dorin; the homeworld of the kel dor species. Though the Jedi had no official ties with the organization, they had never been at odds with the kel dor monks, even if they used the Force independently. The Baran Do most of the time welcomed Jedi with open arms, to come and meditate at their monasteries and temples.

Jedi Master Plo Koon, who was the Jedi to discover Ahsoka on Shili, when she was an infant, was actually a member of the Baran Do himself. While not an actual active participant, the Baran Do considered Plo Koon to be one of their own, as the aged and experienced kel dor Jedi Master had spent a lot of time with them during his younger years.

"A meditation crystal, huh? What... does it do..?" Anakin asked, not exactly sure, what Ahsoka's gift was meant to be.

"If you meditate... really immerse yourself in the Force.. the crystal will react to it." The young togruta Padawan said, before smiling, and taking the crystal off Anakin's hands, placing it between the two of them on the bed.

"Here; take my hands, Master." She said, offering her tender hands to the human Jedi Knight, who raised his eyebrows. Anakin quietly then took his Padawan's hands, holding them. Ahsoka stared into his eyes, smiling.

"Close your eyes, and immerse yourself with the Force.." She instructed, after which she closed her eyes, her master doing the same.

The two young Jedi allowed the Force to flow through them. As they meditated, Anakin could suddenly feel something he had never thought to experience. He felt Ahsoka's presence, in the Force, more strongly than he ever had before.

It wasn't the normal feeling of one's presence in the Force, that all Force-sensitive people could feel around each other. It was like he had entered his Padawan's inner being, feeling the entirety of her as an aura. The feeling was quite overwhelming for him, making him shiver slightly.

The meditation crystal between them suddenly rose up, beginning to float in the air. The crystal begun to radiate in different colors, the Force between the two Jedi giving it power. After a few moments, the Force aura begun to disappear. The crystal landed back on the bed, losing its power, and the two Jedi opened their eyes.

Anakin felt weird, overwhelmed. He looked at his apprentice, breathing slightly heavy.

"What... what was that..?" He asked, slightly out of breath. His Padawan simply smiled, her clear blue eyes looking into his.

"That was something called _Force meld_. The Baran Do monks.. especially the members, who are married to each other, use it to sometimes meld their minds together, and enter a sort of euphoric state." Ahsoka explained. Anakin hummed quietly; it certainly was an euphoric experience.

"I never knew something like this existed... it felt.. strange. Did that crystal have something to do with it..?" He asked, to which his apprentice chuckled, and nodded her head.

"The crystal amplified the connection we shared through the Force. It acted as a conduit of sorts. Of course, the two of us could meld our minds together without it as well... but the crystal just makes it easier." Ahsoka replied. Her Jedi Master really felt confused, having never expected something like this to exist.

"Can any Jedi do this? Why haven't we been taught something like this...?" Anakin asked his apprentice, who shrugged her shoulders.

"Jedi with strong Force bonds between each other, can do this the best. It amplifies their power, and makes them more effective in combat. I guess that the Order frowns upon something, that makes the attachment stronger between Jedi... as you and I both know, that it leads to affection... and that's bad according to them." Ahsoka said, to which Anakin scoffed quietly, agreeing.

"Yeah... it all comes down to attachment, and how wrong it is, doesn't it?" He said, knowing full well, how much the Jedi Order avoided attachments and affection, as they could all lead to the Dark Side more easily.

However, forbidding all such things, because of the slight chance of being corrupted, never had made much sense to the young human Jedi Knight. Although, he had seen firsthand, what the love for his mother had made him do, when he had lost her to the Tusken Raiders...

"I feel like we should at least welcome compassion. And besides... it's not like small displays of affection hurt anyone.." Ahsoka responded with a quiet laugh. Her and Anakin's eyes then met, and they begun staring at each other for a few long moments.

Anakin had no idea why, but right now, his eyes were captivated by his Padawan's clear blue eyes, and he found it difficult, not to look at anything else but them. At that moment, he also noticed, that Ahsoka's hand was gently resting on his own. The young human Jedi then cleared his throat, beginning to scratch the back of his neck.

"Oh... right... uh.. yeah..." He said, stuttering slightly. As Ahsoka kept smiling at him, he became more and more uncomfortable. He felt strange attraction to her at this moment, and it certainly made him feel uncomfortable.

After a short moment, the tent's door opened, which caught the two Jedi's attention. CC-7567, nicknamed "Rex", stepped into the tent, seeing his commanding officers sitting on a bed.

"Sorry if I interrupted anything, General... I can come back later." The clone trooper said, carrying his white and blue helmet in his hands. Anakin quickly got up from the bed, being thankful of the distraction.

"No no! It's fine, Rex... go ahead.." The human Jedi Knight said, to which his second-in-command nodded his head.

"Yes, sir. Our scouts have located a weak spot in the enemy stronghold's walls; I suggest that we hit that spot hard, when we launch our assault tomorrow." Rex explained, his voice collected and professional. Anakin quickly nodded his head, still feeling a bit distracted.

"Yes.. yes, good. We'll do that, Rex. Do you... do you need me to help our scouts? I can do that... I'm in no hurry.." He said, stuttering again. Rex smiled, and shook his head.

"No need, General.. you should get some rest. I will see you in the morning, sir... there's a lot of work to do then.." The clone captain answered, before turning around, and heading out of the tent. Anakin bit his lip, scratching the back of his head.

As he turned back around, he could see that Ahsoka had returned to her bed, now preparing it so that she could go to sleep. His Padawan had placed the small meditation crystal on a nearby table.

"Well... I'll be ready to destroy hundreds of droids after a good night's sleep." Ahsoka said with a chuckle. Anakin scratched the back of his head again.

"Uh... yeah. I'm... I'm gonna go take a shower. I'll see you in the morning, Ahsoka... goodnight.." The Jedi Knight said, before making a rather hasty retreat to the tent's bathroom section. Ahsoka raised her brows slightly, not sure about what her master was on right now.

"Sure thing, Skyguy.." She said to her master with a slight chuckle.

After Anakin had left the room, the young togruta girl prepared herself for bed. She took off her clothes, leaving only her underwear on. Ahsoka then climbed onto her bed, pulling the blanker over her, as she lied down.

The young teenage girl could hear the water starting to run in the nearby bathroom. As she tried to get some sleep, Ahsoka could not help but to think about Anakin in the shower. She didn't know why, but that image begun to circle in her mind. It made her giggle quietly, as she thought of herself being silly, thinking about such things. But then again, she was young, and thoughts like that would be common for any other girl.

But, she was a Jedi, and she was thinking such things about her own Master no less. Shaking her head, Ahsoka tried to get the thoughts off her mind. She closed her eyes, and waited to fall asleep, as Anakin kept showering in the other room.

 **Present day...**

Anakin slowly opened his eyes, waking up from his deep sleep. The human Jedi groaned slightly, as he felt pain all over his torso. He looked down, seeing bandages on his chest, going around his back as well. He then looked around, seeing that he was lying on couch, inside a small house.

Anakin raised his eyebrows, as he had no recollection at all, about how he had gotten to this house. The last thing he remembered, was being beaten down by the Sand People. The human man looked around again, slowly getting up from the couch. He hissed, as the pain in his torso got to him.

Anakin then slowly stood up, looking around yet again. No one else was in the room that he was standing in, and it didn't seem like anyone was in the actual building, other than him.

As Anakin looked around the living room, he could notice several Republic and Separatist items on a shelf. That made him even more suspicious, as he knew that the people on Tatooine weren't big fans of the Republic, and even less of the Confederacy.

He then turned around, and saw that his lightsaber, as well as Ahsoka's lightsaber and Padawan braids, were laid down on a nearby table. Anakin frowned slightly, as he moved his hand on the lightsaber hilts, wondering who had put them there. The same person had also taken care of him, which only made him more suspicious.

Suddenly, the human Jedi could hear the sound of footsteps behind him. Squeezing his hands for a second, Anakin took a deep breath. Then, he suddenly grabbed his lightsaber hilt, and activated the weapon, quickly turning around, and pointing the blade at whoever was behind him.

The person now in front of him, gasped loudly, as the blue lightsaber blade was suddenly pointed at her throat. She dropped a small mug, that was in her hands, making it fall on the floor, and spill water all over it. As Anakin stared at the person, he could now see her features. The young Jedi Knight's heart nearly stopped, as he looked at the girl in front of him.

Anakin couldn't believe what he was seeing; it was Ahsoka, his former apprentice, standing there right in front of him. The togruta girl had her hand in front of her mouth, sharing her old master's feeling.

"Anakin..." She said quietly, staring into the human man's eyes. Anakin's heart was pounding in his chest, and his hand begun to shake ever so slightly.

"Ahsoka...? You... this can't be real..." The human Jedi said, taking a step back. Ahsoka bit her lip, understanding how shocked her former Jedi Master likely was.

"It is me, Skyguy... I know you find it hard to believe.. but this is real..." She assured, but Anakin shook his head.

"No.. I must be dreaming, or hallucinating. Or this is some trick..." He said, not being able to believe, that his former Padawan, one of the most important people in his life, was standing in front of him. Ahsoka took a step towards him, trying to make him believe.

"Please... trust me. This is real... and I'm right here... Ani.." She said very quietly, almost whispering.

That made Anakin's heart beat only faster. Hearing the "Ani", which was his nickname only the closest of people to him knew, made him feel like he was about to fall on his knees. His lightsaber fell from his hand, hitting the floor, deactivating in the process.

"Ahsoka..." He whispered, breathing slightly heavy. Ahsoka began smiling, tears starting to flow down her cheeks.

"Yeah... it's me.." She replied, her tears rolling down to her lips. Anakin breathed heavier, feeling lightheaded.

The two kept staring at each other, their emotions overcoming them. Ahsoka burst out crying, and quickly made her way to Anakin, wrapping her arms around his neck. The human Jedi hissed in pain, as his former apprentice hit his wounds. Ahsoka immediately backed off slightly.

"Oh... sorry.." She whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her former master clutched at his stomach for a moment.

"Don't be... you just came at me pretty quickly. Come here, Snips.." Anakin said quietly, gently pulling Ahsoka against him.

The two embraced each other tightly, letting their emotions go free. Ahsoka sobbed against Anakin's chest, her hand going through his hair. The human man rubbed his hand on the young togruta's back, sighing deeply.

"I have no idea how this happened... I can't believe that you found me.." Anakin said, not sure whether the Force had anything to do with this. Ahsoka chuckled ever so slightly, while still sobbing.

"Believe me.. I never would have expected this either. But like Master Kenobi always said... nothing happens on chance alone.." The girl replied, her tears making Anakin's chest wet. The human man sighed again, hugging his former apprentice tighter.

"You've no idea how much I've missed you, Snips... I never thought I could see you again.." He said quietly, his hand caressing the togruta girl's head. Ahsoka parted away from him slightly, raising her head to look into his eyes.

The two stared into each other's eyes, finding themselves captured in the moment. The tears rolling down Ahsoka's cheeks, made her skin glimmer in the light. A smile appeared on her face, as she moved her hand against Anakin's cheek, rubbing her thumb on it.

"I never expected to see you either... but now that you're here.. I only feel overwhelming joy." She said, looking into the human's blue eyes. If the situation was a bit different, Ahsoka could even see herself kissing Anakin; just pressing her lips against his. But she knew that wouldn't be appropriate, or wise right now.

After a short moment, the two of them parted, letting each other go. Ahsoka wiped the tears off her face, looking down at the floor, seeing the mug, that had spilled water. She let out a quiet laugh, before clearing her throat.

"I... uh... I was going to bring you some water. But... you obviously woke up already." She said, finding it hard to not start crying again. This whole ordeal had brought up all of Ahsoka's past emotions, and feelings towards Anakin, and it was overwhelming her.

"Yeah... I guess you didn't expect that." The human Jedi replied, before suddenly clenching his teeth together, as the pain in his torso got slightly worse. Ahsoka took a hold of him, her hand gently rubbing his arm.

"Here... sit down, Ani.. you still need to recover." She said, her voice slightly worried. She helped Anakin sit back down on the couch, also sitting down herself.

"It's not that bad, Snips... I can move just fine. I just need to gather my things, and try to get off this planet, so I can contact Obi-Wan." Anakin said, trying to brush off his wounds. Ahsoka shook her head determinately.

"Oh no; I'm gonna take care of you, until you're fully healed. You'll stay still as long as I need, okay? I can't let you run off, when you're still injured." She said, sounding like a protective mother hen. Anakin chuckled slightly.

"For real, Ahsoka.. you don't need to fuss over me. I'm fine.. and I need to get in contact with the Council." The human Jedi said, trying to get up again, but his former Padawan stopped him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"And I'm being for real as well, Anakin. The Sand People beat up you pretty badly... those wounds will take time to heal. And furthermore; the gunshot wound in your stomach will take time to fully heal as well. Where did you even get it..?" She asked, her hand gently tracing along Anakin's chest.

"Well... uh... General Grievous shot me. His ship was in orbit above Tatooine, and I managed to escape it. And.. here we are.." He explained rather offhandedly. Ahsoka's eyes widened, before she sighed slightly.

"You always manage to get in so much trouble..." She said, shaking her head slightly. That made her former master smile.

"Trouble finds me, I would argue. Besides... it's not like you and I never got in trouble..." Anakin replied, winking his eye at the togruta girl, who responded by rolling her eyes.

"I had almost forgotten how impossible you are sometimes.." Ahsoka said, to which Anakin chuckled quietly.

"Don't tell me you never loved that about me, Snips." He replied with another wink. Ahsoka suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. She bit her lip, and looked around quickly.

"Oh.. well... I guess you have a point there, Skyguy.." She said, scratching the back of her head a bit, as she suddenly felt embarrassed, and flustered.

The two stayed sitting down for a moment, allowing the awkward silence to fall on them. Ahsoka then got up, taking the mug in her hands again. Anakin looked at her, as she begun pacing around for a moment.

"I.. I'm gonna go get you that water now. Please, Anakin... get some rest; you still need to recover." The togruta girl said, before attempting to walk away.

"Ahsoka.." Anakin said, getting her attention. She looked at the young human man, her heart racing in her chest.

"When I've recovered... could you come with me?" He asked quietly, which made Ahsoka's heart skip a beat again.

"I... no.." She could only answer, trying to walk back to the kitchen afterwards. Anakin however gently grabbed her arm, making her look at him again.

"Ahsoka... please come with me. We could go back... work together again.. and bring an end to the war. After that, there's so many possibilities for both of us. Wouldn't you want that..?" He asked, looking into the girl's eyes. Ahsoka had her mouth open slightly, finding it hard to answer her former master.

"I... I can't, Anakin. I can't return to the Jedi Order... not after what happened. I'd love to travel with you again... but I can't.." She explained, again trying to turn away from Anakin, who squeezed her hand, making her look into his eyes again.

"Are you sure? I know that the Order would welcome you back. I still think you made a mistake, leaving us... leaving me..." He answered, his and Ahsoka's eyes locked in with each other. The young girl sighed long, moving her hand to Anakin's cheek.

"Maybe I did.. but too much has happened... too much has changed, for me to ever come back. I'm sorry... Ani.." She said quietly, before finally managing to walk away, and make her way to the kitchen.

Anakin stayed sitting on the couch, leaning back. He pulled his lightsaber hilt from the floor using the Force, grabbing it from the air. The human Jedi Knight sighed deeply, feeling disappointed, that he wasn't able to convince his former apprentice to come with him.

Ahsoka walked in to the small kitchen, placing the mug under a water dispenser. She sighed deeply, leaning herself against the desk. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she shook her head in sadness.

"You know why I also can't come with you..?" She asked very quietly, knowing that Anakin couldn't hear her. She turned her gaze towards the human Jedi, who now lied down on the couch. The togruta girl sighed again, as she watched her former Jedi Master.

"...it's because I still love you.." She finished quietly, lowering her head, feeling defeat and sorrow.

Ahsoka silently then refilled the small mug with water, before making her way back to Anakin. She knew she could never reveal her feelings to the young human man, as she knew it would only make his life more difficult.

She had gone to great lengths, in order to escape her past, and try to move on from her previous life, and that included moving past her love for Anakin. No matter how much it pained her, Ahsoka knew, that she'd eventually have to let Anakin go, and try to move on with her life. Leaving Tatooine with him would only make that even more difficult, and she didn't want that, no matter how strong her feelings were.

 **...**

Hundreds of air speeders, taxis and other small spacecraft, flew past the large windows of the Supreme Chancellor's office on Coruscant. The spacious office was almost completely colored red, which assumingly was the favorite color of Chancellor Palpatine.

The human Chancellor was sitting in his comfortable chair, several members of the Jedi Council sitting down opposite of him. Next to Palpatine stood his aide and spokesman in the Galactic Senate; the _chagrian_ _Mas Amedda_.

Mace Windu, Ki-Adi Mundi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and _Aayla Secura_ , all members of the Jedi Council, had arrived to Palpatine's office, in order to discuss the situation regarding Anakin. As usual, the Chancellor had welcomed his Jedi allies with open arms, smiling wholeheartedly.

The Jedi had explained the situation to the leader of the Republic, who had listened with an open ear, taking in every detail. Palpatine hummed quietly, after hearing his Jedi comrades' speech.

"This is a dire situation, no doubt. Has there been any contact with young Skywalker, after his escape from General Grievous?" The elder human man asked. Obi-Wan, who was sitting between Master Windu and Mundi, sighed and shook his head.

"No... I haven't been able to contact R2-D2 either, which makes me worried." The bearded Jedi Master answered. Mace Windu then spoke up, leaning slightly forward on his seat.

"Assuming that Skywalker is still alive, he's in danger of being discovered by the Hutts. There's no telling for what they'd do, if they found a Jedi on one of their planets..." The dark skinned human Jedi stated, which definitely didn't make his colleague feel any better.

"The relations to the Hutts are that bad... I agree. I will hold a meeting with the Senate tomorrow. I have discussed things with several senators for days now, and I think we've found a solution to the problem with the Hutts." Palpatine then stated, which made most of the Jedi in the room, raise their eyebrows.

"With all due respect, Chancellor. I doubt that more war will be the answer." Master Mundi told, folding his arms. Mace Windu and Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, which made Palpatine sigh slightly, and nod as well.

"I agree, my friends... but sometimes, we have to take the tough approach. The Hutts still control the important hyperspace lanes in the Outer Rim, which we sorely need in order to finish off the Separatists." The Chancellor explained calmly. His chagrian aide nodded his head beside him.

"Make no mistake, Master Jedi; we have attempted to reacquire access to these lanes diplomatically, but the Hutts will not give quarter. They've officially declared us their enemies, as they've done with the Separatists." Mas Amedda explained, his composure staying calm and collected, which was normal for the near robot-like diplomatic aide.

"And if the result is war with the Hutts.. what will our role be in it?" Aayla Secura asked, breaking her silence. Palpatine smiled slightly then.

"I will touch that subject in tomorrow's Senate hearing as well. I believe that the Jedi Order has given enough for the Republic during this war. I assume that you would all prefer to resign from leading our troops to battle?" The Chancellor asked, which made his Jedi allies raise their brows. The question was certainly surprising to them.

"Well... we always hope to avoid war; we're peacekeepers, above all else. But, who would take our place, in leading the clone armies then?" Obi-Wan asked curiously, to which Palpatine smiled again.

"I will explain everything at the Senate hearing tomorrow. I hope you all will attend." The human politician said politely.

Suddenly, the rather loud noise of someone barging in to the office got everyone's attention. Palpatine frowned slightly, as he looked at the entrance to his office. As the four Jedi turned their heads around, they could see another Jedi, a _kiffar_ male, confidently walking in. Obi-Wan sighed deeply, as he lowered his head.

"Late as usual..." The bearded human Jedi said quietly. The kiffar Jedi smirked widely, approaching the group.

"Sorry that I'm late; I took the scenic route." The man said with a smirk. His Jedi colleagues, all stared at him with slightly disappointed faces.

The kiffar Jedi Master was _Quinlan Vos_ ; a highly experienced and skilled member of the Order. He was the former master of Aayla Secura, having taught her everything there was to know about the Force. Vos was however a very unique and characterful Jedi, very rarely seeing eye to eye with the Council, usually going his own way to resolve issues.

Vos' confidence, brash behavior and recklessness had given him a rather bad reputation among the Jedi, many not having much respect for him. His personality was one of the main reasons, why he had never been offered a position in the Jedi Council; a position that his former Padawan Aayla, had recently acquired.

Vos' irregular behavior had its downsides as well. Early on in the Clone Wars, the kiffar Jedi Master had lost control over his emotions, which had led him to turn to the Dark Side, and join the Separatists. Fortunately, his Jedi comrades, especially his former apprentice, where able to convince him to turn back to the Light, not too long after his fall. Ever since then, Vos had stayed with the Order, albeit having damaged his relations to them in more ways than one. Still, the Jedi had given him another chance; a chance that he was determined to show was worth it.

As the kiffar man approached his colleagues, he noticed his former Padawan among them. A wide smile appeared on his face, as his apprentice stood up from her seat. Vos extended his arms, approaching the twi'lek woman.

"Hey, Aayla. I didn't know you'd be here." Quinlan said, smiling widely. Aayla rolled her eyes a bit at that.

"I did send you a message about it, Master." She replied, which made her former master scoff quietly.

"You know I don't read my messages... too much spam from scammers." The man joked, pulling his Padawan closer to him. The two of them gave a kiss on each other's cheek, as a form of greeting.

Even though kissing each other's cheeks was a cultural greeting for the twi'leks, the Jedi still frowned upon Aayla and her Master using it to greet each other. All forms of physical intimacy, and displays of affection were frowned upon, even if the vast majority of the Jedi would end up doing such things sometime in their life.

After the two had greeted each other, Vos clasped his hands together, letting out a small laugh, as he turned his attention to the Supreme Chancellor.

"What up, Palps? Good to see you still kickin' and looking fine." The kiffar Jedi said with a smirk, which made the Chancellor raise his eyebrows.

"Oh... well.. thank you.. I think. I trust that you were called here for a reason, Master Vos?" Palpatine asked, his gaze turning to the four other Jedi, sitting in front of him. Master Windu nodded his head.

"Indeed. The Jedi Council has deemed immediate action necessary, in order to find out, whether Anakin Skywalker is still alive and well. As such, we decided that Masters Vos and Secura, will travel to Tatooine undercover, and seek out Skywalker.." The dark skinned human Jedi Master explained. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows, looking at his fellow Council member.

"I wasn't informed of this... why?" He asked, feeling slight outrage, that he hadn't been considered for such a mission.

"You hadn't arrived yet, when we came to the decision." Mace Windu explained plainly, which only made his colleague frown.

"Master, I insist to be a part of this mission. Anakin is my apprentice... I need to be there for him." Obi-Wan argued, but Windu lifted his hand up, objecting.

"No! Obi-Wan, you are needed elsewhere. Our decision stands; Quinlan and Aayla will travel to Tatooine, and find Skywalker. We can discuss this more, when we return to the Temple... we don't need to bother the Chancellor with this." He said in a strong voice. Obi-Wan sighed, and nodded, keeping his objections to himself. Master Vos chuckled, and patted his human Jedi colleague's back.

"Don't worry, Kenobi! We will find Skywalker in no time." The kiffar Jedi Master assured with a smile. Chancellor Palpatine then leaned back on his chair.

"Excellent; we have reached a solution. However, I would advise you to be prepared, if military action is in fact to be taken against the Hutts." The human politician said, to which the Jedi nodded their heads in understanding. Aayla then stood up, intending to leave with her master immediately.

"I will prepare the 327th Corps just in case, Chancellor. They'll be ready to aid us, should we need reinforcements on Tatooine." The twi'lek Jedi Master said, to which her colleagues nodded in agreement.

"It is settled then. Be careful on Tatooine, and may the Force be with you two.." Master Windu said to the two, who gracefully bowed their heads to their fellow masters in respect, before starting to leave the office.

The three other Jedi Masters stayed with the Supreme Chancellor for a few more moments, discussing other things, while Aayla Secura, and Quinlan Vos left. As they were walking to the office's exit, Aayla gently tugged her former master's arm.

"You really need to learn to be more professional, Master. You don't just talk to the Supreme Chancellor in that way.." She said to the kiffar, who shrugged his shoulders.

"You know me, Aayla; I've never liked politicians. And you know I can be professional... when it's really needed." Vos replied, to which his former apprentice sighed, and nodded.

"Yeah... I know, Quinlan. But if you'd be more respectful towards your superiors, you'd have gotten so much farther within the Order already." Aayla pointed out, which only made her Jedi Master chuckle.

"Yeah, I'd be in the Council already and blah blah blah..." Vos answered, rolling his eyes. His twi'lek apprentice could only laugh quietly.

"Yes... especially that. But at the very least your Padawan has made it there.." She said with a slight smile. Her former master smiled as well, and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"And you know just how proud you make me with that, baby girl." Vos said with a warm smile.

The relationship between the two was a very uncommon one, compared to most Jedi. Quinlan and Aayla saw each other as being family, being related to each other. They were like a father, and a daughter, and often displayed similar affection to each other, that most family members usually did. Even if the rest of the Order frowned upon such attachment, Quinlan and Aayla had gotten far in their lives and careers; proving that the issue of attachment wasn't as black and white, as the Jedi Order would think.

However, because of their close ties, the Order avoided having them working together, out of the fear that one of them might lose control of their emotions, and would thus fall to the Dark Side. The Council's decision to have the two of them seek out Skywalker, was something that neither of them could have expected, but was something that both of them enjoyed.

The two Jedi Masters left the Supreme Chancellor's office, making their way to the _Republic Executive Building's_ main hangar bay, from which they could get back to the Jedi Temple, in order to embark upon their travel to Tatooine.

 **...**

Anakin sighed deeply, as Ahsoka wrapped his torso with bandages. She had just taken the worn bandages off, and was now wrapping him up with new ones. The human Jedi Knight didn't like being fussed over like a child, as he felt like it made him look ridiculous.

"For real, Ahsoka.. you don't need to do this." He said, a sentence he had repeated at least four times during the last hour. The togruta girl sitting down next to him, shook her head.

"Nonsense, Ani... you're in my care now, so get used to it." She answered to her former master, which made him look at her, and begin smiling.

"I had forgotten how bossy you can be, Snips.." He said, winking his eye at the girl, who scoffed quietly, and rolled her eyes.

"You haven't seen a bit of it yet, Skyguy... and for your sake, I hope you won't push me into being the bossiest girl you've ever seen." Ahsoka replied with a slight smirk, still wrapping Anakin's chest with bandages. That made the human man smirk as well, and he moved his finger under the togruta girl's chin, lifting it up, so that she'd look him in the eyes.

"And what if I do?" He asked quietly, his voice becoming slightly suggestive. That made Ahsoka's heart beat faster, but she moved her face slightly closer to Anakin's.

"You sure you want to find out?" She said, almost whispering. Anakin's eyes wandered down to look at the togruta girl's full lips. He bit his lip, and looked into Ahsoka's eyes again.

"Maybe.." He replied, his lips moving just inches away from Ahsoka's. The two of them looked deep into each other's eyes, being silent.

Before anything else could happen however, a sudden slight tremor caught the pair's attention. Anakin raised his eyebrows slightly, as the water glass on the nearby table begun shaking a bit.

"What's that?" He asked, not exactly being sure, what was happening. Ahsoka sighed deeply, seeming to know, what was coming.

"It's the Jawas... they come by my house every month, trying to sell their droids to me." She said, finishing putting Anakin's bandages in place. The young human man raised his brows further.

"Can't you just tell them to leave you be?" The Jedi asked further. Ahsoka shook her head, sighing again.

"You've lived here, Anakin... you know how those little guys can be. I'll go talk to them, and get them to leave. Be right back..." She said, before getting up from the couch, and walking to her front door.

The togruta girl stepped out, the noon light from Tatooine's twin suns shining down on the desert. Ahsoka put her hand in front of her eyes slightly, the light from the sun being brighter than usual.

Sure enough, she could then spot the massive _sandcrawler_ , being utilized by the Jawas, having been parked near her home. The sandcrawlers were old large transport vehicles, having been used by miners, thousands of years ago, when Tatooine was a thriving mining colony. After the desert planet had run out of precious metals and minerals, the large companies like _Czerka_ , left their hundreds of vehicles behind, which were then quickly adopted as mobile homes by the scavenger Jawas.

Ahsoka approached the sandcrawler, seeing a dozen Jawas running around, preparing many droids for display. The young girl sighed deeply, as she walked to a Jawa, who was waving her over.

"Crett... I told you I don't need any of your droids." She said to the little hooded alien, who answered her in the fast paced Jawa language.

"I'm sure you have new droids available.. but I still don't need any of them." Ahsoka continued, as the Jawa, named Crett, wasn't backing down. The small sized scavenger kept insisting, which made the togruta girl sigh, and roll her eyes.

"Okay, fine... I'll take a look at them.." She then said, giving in to the Jawa's wishes.

Ahsoka followed the small Jawa to the droid display, the other small hooded people still trying to make their merchandize look as good as possible. She wasn't interested in any way about the droids, but she guessed that she couldn't get the Jawas to go away, until she'd have looked through their wares.

Crett walked slowly, showing Ahsoka all kinds of droids, from protocol droids to small astromech and utility droids. The young girl could only sigh, as the enthusiastic Jawa showed her all the droids they had scavenged, being especially proud of this month's batch.

As the Jawa merchant walked to the end of the long line of droids, the last one caught Ahsoka's eye. It was an R2-series astromech droid, sporting a blue and white coloration. The droid looked just like one certain astromech Ahsoka had gotten to know during the Clone Wars.

As they got to the droid, it suddenly came to life, starting to beep furiously at Ahsoka. The small astromech droid's voice almost made the girl's heart stop.

"Artooie!?" She exclaimed loudly, as the small droid recognized her, beeping in an even happier tone. Ahsoka had no idea, how R2-D2 had gotten in the hands of the Jawas, but she knew, that she'd have to get the little guy back to Anakin.

"Hold on, Artooie... I'll get you free." She said to the droid, referring to him by the nickname she had come up with years ago. Ahsoka then turned to Crett, who seemed interested in the two's interaction.

"Okay, Crett... make me a deal on this droid. I want it." She said to the Jawa, who nodded his head, and gave her a price. That made Ahsoka frown.

"780 druggats!? Crett, this R2 unit is property of the Republic... being owned by a Jedi Knight no less. Would you really want to get in trouble, for trying sell this droid for that price?" She asked, which seemingly frightened the Jawa a bit. The small alien started stuttering, trying to lower the price.

"You have to go lower than that. I'll give you 60 druggats for it." Ahsoka said to the Jawa, who didn't take that well, throwing his hands in the air.

"Hey, I could just take Artooie... it's obvious that you guys snatched him from the desert. And since he's Republic property; you stole him." She explained to Crett, who then mumbled something quietly, before sighing, and nodding, accepting the price Ahsoka was offering.

The togruta girl smiled slightly, handing the money to the Jawa, who rather grudgingly took them. After that, Crett called his colleagues over, ordering them to remove R2's restraining bolt. Two Jawas then made their way to the astromech droid, and removed the small device on his head.

After that, R2 happily beeped, having been freed. The droid rolled over to Ahsoka, who smiled widely. She knelt down, and patted the head of the droid.

"It's nice to see you too, Artooie. Guess you didn't expect to find me here, hmm?" She asked the droid, who beeped happily in response. Ahsoka chuckled slightly then.

"I know, I know... Anakin is with me, in my house. I found him last night. Come on, little guy... let's go give him a surprise." She said, patting the droid's dome head again.

R2, commonly called "Artoo", beeped happily in response, his dome head turning around in a cheery way. The two old friends then made their way back to Ahsoka's home, the togruta girl having a wide smile on her face. Anakin would love this.

Ahsoka and R2 stepped in to the house, the droid using his feet to get over the small doorstep. An even wider grin appeared on the togruta's face, as she walked to the living room, where she could find Anakin lying down on the couch.

"Hey, Skyguy. Look what I found outside." She said to the human man, who raised his eyebrows, sitting up. As soon as he could see the droid roll in, Anakin's eyes widened.

"R2!" He exclaimed, to which the droid answered with a few happy beeps. Anakin tried to get up, but hissed in pain, as his wounds had still not quite healed. Ahsoka quickly walked over to him, slowly pushing him back on the couch.

"Woah there, big guy... don't get too excited; you still need to heal." She said to her former master, who groaned in slight frustration. R2-D2 rolled his way over to his owner, who began smiling again.

"Hey there, little guy. So you got away from Grievous after all..." Anakin said to the droid, gently patting his metallic head. The human Jedi Knight then looked at Ahsoka again.

"Did the Jawas try to sell him to you?" He asked the girl, who smirked, and shrug her shoulders.

"I got a good deal on Artooie. I know that you would have just roughed up those poor Jawas..." She replied, which made the human man scoff.

"Of course I would have... no one steals my droid." Anakin stated, patting his droid's head again, who beeped cheerily in response. Ahsoka rolled her eyes, sitting down on the couch.

"Yeah, you're so amazingly mighty, aren't you, Skyguy? Bringing fear unto the weak willed Jawas!" She said, making fun of the human Jedi, who let out a quiet laugh.

"Do you always have to mock me, Snips?" He asked with a smile. Ahsoka smirked slightly, and patted his leg once.

"Only when it's due, Ani..." The girl replied, winking her eye at him. That made Anakin smile more, and he moved his hand on top of Ahsoka's, looking into her eyes again.

"I'm glad I found you again, Ahsoka..." He said quieter. Ahsoka felt ache in her heart. She wanted to let the human know of her feelings, but it would make things more complicated. She then turned her hand around, squeezing her former master's hand.

"It was me who found **you** again, Anakin... and I feel the same.." She replied, holding the human Jedi's hand, her thumb softly rubbing on it. The two of them continued to stare into each other's eyes, letting the beautiful moment linger on, as their droid companion quietly observed them.

 **...**

Jedi Masters Vos and Secura stepped out of an elevator, having arrived to the Jedi Temple's main hangar bay. They begun to approach a _Nu-class_ attack shuttle, that was landed near the hangar bay's exit.

As they walked to the shuttle, an LAAT/i gunship flew into the hangar, landing near the attack shuttle. A few clone troopers from the 327th Star Corps, stepped out of the gunship's passenger compartment. CC-5052, the leading clone commander of the Corps, approached his Jedi commanding officer Aayla Secura, taking off his helmet.

"Good to see you, General. Our troops are mobilizing; we should be ready for deployment by the end of the day." The seasoned Commander said, to which his Jedi officer answered with a smile, and a nod.

"Good work, _Bly_. We will contact you, once we're on Tatooine, and decide whether or not we'll need the reinforcements." Aayla replied, referring to her clone subordinate by his nickname.

"You got it, General. Good hunting..." Bly then said, saluting both Aayla and Quinlan. After that, the clone commander and his subordinates walked back to the gunship, and jumped in.

The LAAT/i gunship lifted off from the metallic floor of the hangar bay, and turned around in the air, before flying out. Aayla and Quinlan then walked to the Nu-class shuttle, walking up the small ramp, into the starship.

"Been nearly a decade, since I visited Tatooine the last time. This is gonna be fun..." The kiffar Jedi Master said, making his way to the shuttle's passenger compartment.

"Before you ask, Master... no, we will not stop by the different cantinas on Tatooine. I know how you are..." Aayla said to her former master, sitting down next to him in the passenger compartment. Quinlan started laughing after that.

"You certainly do know me, Aayla. Let's just hope that we can find Skywalker quickly... so that I actually can visit those cantinas.." The kiffar Jedi answered, which made his former Padawan roll her eyes.

"You never change, Quinlan..." Aayla said quietly, shaking her head, while smiling.

The entrance ramp of the Nu-class shuttle then closed. The clone pilots in the ship's cockpit activated its systems, powering up its engines. After a short moment, the shuttle's engines came to life, and lifted the ship up from the ground.

The ship brought more power to its engines, turning around in the hangar bay. The two wings on its sides folded down, giving it a slightly similar look to the _V-19 Torrent_ fighters, that were used by the Republic the first two years of the Clone Wars, before being replaced by the Z-95s, and Alpha-3s.

The Nu-class shuttle then flew out of the Jedi Temple's hangar bay, increasing its speed rapidly, as it ascended to the skies of Coruscant. The shuttle flew through several clouds, before hitting the planet's higher orbit, and thus leaving the _ecumenopolis_ behind.

 **...**

The evening sun made the sky reddish in color, being beautiful in many peoples' opinion. Light snow fell from the sky, covering the high rising skyscrapers' roofs on the ice planet _Csilla_.

Inside one of the planet's government's buildings, two blue skinned humanoids sat in an office. They were _chiss_ , a near-human race hailing from Csilla, which was a planet in the Unknown Regions of the Galaxy. The chiss were distinguished by their dark blue skin, and bright red eyes, though being completely identical to humans in every other way in their appearance.

A female chiss sat at an office desk, a male member of the species being seated opposite of her. The two of them were quiet, as if waiting for something. At the other end of the office, two chiss soldiers stood guard, indicating that the female was a high ranking politician in the government.

Suddenly, a hologram appeared on an emitter, that was placed on the desk. The blue hologram of a human male, donned in a dark robe and a hood, laid his eyes on the chiss duo.

"The time has come, my friends... the war is nearing its end; the opportunity to strike a fatal blow to the Confederacy has arrived, and I require your assistance in it." The dark hooded human man said in a low, menacing voice. The two chiss looked at each other for a moment.

"What becomes of the Republic, after we destroy the Separatists? Do we proceed with the Grand Plan, Lord Sidious?" The female chiss asked, to which the hooded man, Darth Sidious, shook his head.

"Leave that to me, my friend. For now... all that the Republic needs, is assistance in the war against the Separatists. The Senate will approve of the alliance.. I assure you." The Sith Lord explained, which made the two chiss nod their heads.

"I will let the military know of this, my Lord. We will move in immediately against the Confederacy, after our fleets and armies have mobilized." The male chiss said, bowing his head slightly to the Sith, who smiled.

"Good.. good. This is the beginning of the end, my friends... and the dawn of something far greater." Sidious answered, after which the male chiss leaned back on his chair, folding his arms.

"I assume that we're to be in contact with Count Dooku?" He asked the Sith Lord, who nodded his head.

"Yes; Darth Tyranus will help you in coordinating the attacks against the core Separatist worlds. You will move in swiftly, and effectively... the Galaxy will stand in awe, feeling the illusion of your armies and fleets being near invincible." Sidious explained, which made the male chiss scoff quietly.

"Both the Republic and the Confederacy will never know what hit them, when we're done with this. Do you have any other instructions for us, on how to deal with the Separatists, my Lord?" He then asked, which made the Sith Lord be quiet for a moment. The Dark Side user then smirked deviously, nodding.

"Yes... wipe them out... **all** **of them**..." The human Sith Lord said, before his hologram suddenly disappeared.

The two chiss looked at each other for a moment, before the female began smiling slightly.

"Well.. you heard Lord Sidious, brother; our forces must mobilize. I will hold a meeting with the other _Aristocras_ right away... we need to bring information to the people as well." She said quietly, after which her brother stood up from his chair.

"You do that, Veeren. You've always brought honor to our family in the government... don't fail us now." The man said, to which his sister scoffed quietly.

"Let me worry about that, _Thrawn_. You just help our military secure an astounding victory against the Separatists.." She said with a slight smirk, leaning forward on her chair, having her arms rest on her desk.

The siblings were _Sev'eere'nuruodo_ , and her brother _Mitth'raw'nuruodo_ , though they were usually called by their "core names" Veeren and Thrawn. They were step-siblings by blood, although they had always regarded being completely blood related. They were part of one of the _Ruling Families_ of the _Chiss Ascendancy_ ; the _House of Nuruodo_.

Veeren was one of the Aristocras in the chiss government, who served as the leaders of the Ascendancy. Thrawn was a high ranking military officer in the Ascendancy's naval forces. The siblings had been allied to the Dark Lord Sidious for several years, as was the entire government of the Chiss Ascendancy.

The chiss were ancient allies to the Sith, their close ties going as far back as the Great Galactic War, nearly 3700 years earlier. After the centuries long wars with the Republic and the Jedi, and after the collapse of _Emperor Vitiate's Sith Empire_ , and the _Eternal Empire_ , the Chiss Ascendancy had retreated back to their homes in the Unknown Regions.

Ever since then, the chiss had never set foot in Republic controlled space officially, having isolated themselves to their homeworld, and the small region of space, that they had controlled for thousands of years.

The Ascendancy had been in small contact with the Sith even before Darth Sidious had approached them, having offered sanctuary to hundreds of Sith, during the time after the _Ruusan Reformations_. A few decades earlier, Lord Sidious had established a secret alliance with the chiss government. After that, the two parties had worked in secrecy, trying to move the ultimate Sith plan forward, one small step at a time. Having the Ascendancy ally with the Republic, and move in to destroy the Separatists, would no doubt bring the Grand Plan ever so slightly closer to its completion.

Before Thrawn left, his sister pressed her hand against her chest, standing up.

"Bring honor to our family as well, my dear brother. For the Ascendancy!" Veeren said proudly, which made her brother smile. Thrawn pressed his fast against his chest as well, returning the nationalistic gesture.

"For the Ascendancy **and** the coming Empire, my dear sister. May luck favor us all.." He said, before giving his sister one last nod, after which he turned around, and began to head out of the office.

As Thrawn exited the office, the guards at the door saluted him. He stepped out, coming to a long hallway, with many other doors leading to similar offices of the other Aristocras. The 33 year old chiss admiral then activated his comlink, contacting the military's hierarchy.

"Patch me to _Syndic_ Reshen; it's time for our forces to mobilize. We are going to war.." He said to the comlink, after which he continued to walk down the hallway.

Thrawn had been appointed the rank of an admiral at only 33 years of age, making him the youngest chiss to having held that title for nearly three millennia. Thrawn had always been a strong, determined soldier, and his loyalty to the Ascendancy was unfaltering.

However, he had no issues about working with a Sith Lord, to secure control of the entire Galaxy, as long as it would leave the Chiss Ascendancy in a favorable position. Above all else, he wanted his people to flourish, and being isolated in the Unknown Regions would never allow them to unlock their true potential.

A great Galactic Empire, being ruled by both Sith, and the chiss, was the young admiral's largest dream, and he was determined to do anything, in order to make that happen. And no one, could stand in their way, as their fleets and armies would soon move in on the Separatists puppets, and show the Galaxy the true might of the Chiss Ascendancy.

 **...**

Heavy clouds and light rain darkened the skies of the rainforest moon _Yavin 4_ , one of the three habitable moons of the gas giant, _Yavin Prime_. Yavin 4 had always been a remote, rarely inhabited moon in the middle of the Outer Rim.

Five thousand years earlier, the defeated Sith Lord _Naga Sadow_ , had fled to Yavin 4 with his servants, after the end of the _Great Hyperspace War_. Naga Sadow was one of the most powerful Dark Side users at the time, and the defeat of his empire had driven him insane.

The Dark Lord had arrived on Yavin 4, with delusional dreams of rebuilding his lost dynasty. For the rest of his life, Sadow had guided his _massassi_ slaves to build massive structures and temples in the moon's rainforests, which now stood abandoned and overgrown with vegetation, all across Yavin 4.

No government or large settlements had inhabited Yavin 4 since, with only few vagrants establishing a temporary home in the countless of abandoned temples. Because of the extensive inhabitance of the Sith in the past, Yavin 4 was imbued with Dark Side energy. Naga Sadow's spirit had long since been destroyed, but the energy from him, and his mutated massassi slaves, still lingered on around the moon.

A Separatist _Sheathipede_ -class shuttle flew in Yavin 4's low atmosphere, moving over the massive rainforests, and dozens of small massassi temples. The shuttle decreased its speed and altitude, and begun approaching the ground.

After a few moments, the shuttle stopped, quickly approaching the grassy ground. The landing gear touched down on the smooth surface, blowing away leaves and grass, as the engines still boomed with power.

The shuttle began shutting down its engines, having reached its destination. The boarding ramp lowered, after which two _BX-series_ commando droids walked down on it. The droids stopped at the end of the ramp, setting their metallic feet on the grassy ground.

As they looked around the area, scanning it with their eyes, a dark figure walked down the ramp as well. The female figure wore all black, slightly athletic robes, which gave her an oddly attractive look.

Barriss Offee, the newest acolyte working under Darth Sidious and Count Dooku, scanned the nearby area with her eyes as well, not being able to see any wildlife nearby. As she took a step forward, bringing herself under the light rain, she could hear footsteps behind her.

"You sure you want to do this alone?" A low male voice asked. Barriss turned around, frowning slightly, as she looked at a _weequay_ man, walking down the boarding ramp. The weequay wore dark brown robes, being exactly the same design as traditional Jedi attire, only darker in color.

"Darth Sidious gave this assignment to me... and me alone. I will see it through, Bulq..." She answered to the man, who walked behind her. The weequay Dark Jedi, Sora Bulq, hummed quietly.

"Even so, you might want some back up in this... you are facing Darth Maul after all.." He said to the young woman, who scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Don't kid yourself, Bulq... Maul hasn't been anything worthwhile for a long time now; he won't stand a chance against me." The cocky Dark Jedi said with a smirk.

Darth Sidious' former apprentice, Maul, had fled to Yavin 4, after a series of defeats at the hands of his old allies. Maul had established himself as the leader of a _Mandalorian_ faction nearly a year ago, having taken control of _Mandalore_ , the homeworld of the fierce warrior culture.

At the hands of his former master however, Maul had lost everything, and was imprisoned by Sidious. Maul had managed to escape, and seek the help of the leader of a _Nightsister_ clan on the planet of _Dathomir_ ; _Mother Talzin_. Sidious and Count Dooku had however been able to seek him out, and kill Talzin, forcing the former zabrak Sith to flee, and exile himself.

Barriss had arrived on Yavin 4 with Sora Bulq, a former Jedi Master in the Order. Bulq was a strong, independent and skilled Jedi, but his quick temper and aggressiveness had proven his downfall, as he and Quinlan Vos had turned to the Dark Side early on in the Clone Wars.

Unlike Vos however, Bulq had fallen too far, and refused to denounce the Dark Side, staying by his Sith Master Count Dooku's side. The reason for Bulq's fall was rather simple. He had always been a short-tempered Jedi, finding it hard not to fall into anger. Along with fellow Jedi Master Mace Windu, Bulq had developed a new form of lightsaber combat, _Vapaad_.

Vapaad was a highly aggressive version of the lightsaber _Form VII_ , commonly dubbed as " _Juyo_ ". The practice of Vapaad required its user to delve into the Force immensely, and channel all their energy to aggressiveness and anger. It danced around the Dark Side so closely, that the rest of the Jedi Order refused to ever teach it.

Only the strongest willed individuals could master this risky form of combat, and stay in the Light. Mace Windu was strong enough, but his friend, and the co-creator of the form Sora Bulq, was not. Bulq had utilized the highly aggressive form all throughout his time fighting for the Republic, which made his final fall to the Dark Side all the more easy.

Ever since his fall, Bulq had been a loyal servant to Darth Tyranus; hoping that one day, he could ascend to the level of a Sith as well. This was made harder however, by the sudden appearance of his former Jedi colleague Barriss, joining the Dark Side, and becoming Darth Sidious' new pet. This infuriated the weequay man, and he found himself at odds with the young mirialan woman time after time again.

"Well... don't blame me, if you end up being killed by Maul. Maybe I can then claim the victory over him." Bulq said to Barriss, who could only laugh as a response.

"You would like that, wouldn't you, Bulq? You'd love to just stab me in the back with your lightsaber, if it meant that you'd become a Sith in the process. Your jealousy is really transparent." She said with a laugh. Bulq frowned deeply, and took a challenging step towards the smaller mirialan.

"Do **not** test your luck, kid. I was a Jedi Master far before you were even considered to be a Padawan! I could snap your tender spine in a second, and your tenure under Darth Sidious would end right there..." The weequay threatened, which only made the young woman chuckle, and shook her head.

"Yeah, you might have gotten were you are before me... but the fact that Lord Sidious will make me his apprentice, after I kill Maul and Ventress, just shows us all, that I'm better than you... **old man**..." She said quietly, her face inches away from Bulq's, as she taunted him.

Barriss then turned around, and put on her hood, before starting to walk away from the ship, and towards the direction of a large temple. Bulq clenched his teeth together, and squeezed his hands into fists. The amount of rage he had in him was overwhelming, but the Dark Jedi managed to stay his hand.

"Be careful not to get killed by any wildlife... I would just hate to have to pick up all your tiny, pathetic pieces off the ground..." He said after the leaving woman, who chuckled in response.

"Don't worry; I won't give you the displeasure of doing that. I will return, after Maul has been dealt with.." Barriss replied, making her way deeper into the jungle.

Bulq growled quietly, hating the mirialan Dark Jedi with every inch of his body. He then looked around the area, before sighing, and shaking his head. He turned his attention to the two commando droids, who stood guard.

"Keep the area secure... I don't want any wildlife near this ship." The weequay Dark Jedi said, before making his way back into the Sheathipede-class shuttle.

Barriss in the meanwhile, continued to make her way towards her destination; the Great Temple of Naga Sadow, further in the jungle. If all would go according to plan, she'd encounter the hiding Darth Maul there, and with that, would bring herself closer to her ambitious goal, and become the rightful apprentice of Darth Sidious.

But if the disgraced former Sith Lord would prove to be her downfall, then perhaps her rival Sora Bulq, could finish what she started, and eliminate both Maul, and Asajj Ventress, and thus earn the favor of his Sith overlord...


	5. Chapter 4: The Jedi Queen

**Chapter 4: The Jedi Queen**

 **Two years, seven months earlier...**

The whistling sound of heavy winds from the outside, chimed in to a small, cold ice cave. The entrance to the frozen cave had mostly been blocked by the heavy snowfall outside, which had caused the snow to build up, and practically seal the cave in.

A small hydrocarbon operated lamp, brought light to the small cave, as well as a tiny amount of heat. The young togruta Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, was sitting down near the lamp, wearing thick winter clothing, her arms around her legs. She shivered every so often, as the extreme cold was getting to her. "Fog" came out of her mouth, as she breathed, making it look like she was smoking something.

The young girl turned to look to her right, and she could see the blue light, coming out of her Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber blade nearby. Anakin was standing nearby, using his lightsaber as a light, as he walked around the back wall of the small cave, trying to find hollow spots.

The two of them were on the planet _Anteevy_ , having arrived there earlier the same day, in order to try to push the Separatists out. The frigid ice planet's government had seceded from the Republic immediately at the start of the Clone Wars, becoming one of the original planets to have joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

As part of the war campaigns in the Mid Rim, Anakin's 501st Legion had been tasked with capturing the planet. The Jedi General and his army, had arrived with a large fleet, defeating the rather small Separatist fleet, that was defending the planet's orbit.

After the space battle, several Acclamator-class assault ships had flown into the planet's atmosphere. From them, dozens of LAAT/i gunships, and LAAT/c transport ships, carrying _AT-TE_ walkers, had begun their assault, flying towards the ice planet's cities.

The approach to the planet's capital city had been rough however, as droid fighters, and anti-aircraft fire, had caught the attacking Republic forces by surprise. Several gunships had been shot down in the first moments of the battle, as the vulture droids, and flak-gun fire, had ripped through their shields and armor.

Anakin's gunship was among the casualties, having been shot down by relentless anti-aircraft fire. The gunship had crashed several kilometers away from the capital city, having come down in the vast icy wasteland surrounding the target.

Most of the people aboard the gunship, had died immediately on impact with the ground. Anakin and his Padawan Ahsoka, had survived the crash, albeit with injuries. The human Jedi Knight had taken the brunt of the impact, having used his own body, to protect his apprentice. Anakin and Ahsoka had exited the downed gunship, taking all the supplies they could with them, after which they had entered the freezing wastes of Anteevy.

The two Jedi had then wandered in the snowy wastes, trying to find some shelter. They had managed to find a small cave, near a large mountain, and had made their way to it, to take shelter from the freezing climate. As soon as they had taken cover in the cave, a massive blizzard had hit the area. The entrance to the cave had gradually sealed in, leaving the two stranded, though not as cold, as if they'd have stayed outside.

The young togruta girl shivered again, and she rubbed her arms with her hands. She looked to the direction of master again, seeing him still trying to find a way out of the cave. Ahsoka then sneezed, which got Anakin's attention. The human Jedi Knight, looked at his apprentice, after which he deactivated his lightsaber.

"You okay there, Snips?" Anakin asked, putting his lightsaber hilt on his belt, as he walked over to the togruta girl, who sniffled, and nodded.

"Yeah... I'm okay... just a little cold.." She answered, her body shaking slightly. Her Jedi Master sighed, and crouched down near the lamp, starting to go through the supplies they had gotten from the gunship.

"It's too bad that this lamp isn't giving much heat... we'd really need a heater or something..." Anakin said, taking out items from the bag, which had all the supplies in it. He took out a ration pack, and turned towards Ahsoka.

"The food's starting to freeze... are you hungry, Snips?" He asked, showing the rations to the togruta Padawan, who shook her head. Anakin sighed, and put the items back into the bag, after which he moved slightly closer to his apprentice, sitting down on the snowy ground.

"Don't worry... Rex and the others will find us. My comlink is still relaying the distress signal.. so it shouldn't be too long, until they come through that caved in entrance..." He then said with a slight smile, nudging his Padawan's arm.

"I hope so, master... I certainly wouldn't want to freeze to death.. that almost happened to me once already..." Ahsoka answered, shivering again. Anakin frowned slightly, as he realized, what his Padawan was talking about.

Some months earlier, the Republic had led an invasion against the planet of _Geonosis_. The home of the _geonosians_ had been the site of the very first battle in the Clone Wars. However, merely a few months after the battle, the Separatists had retaken the hostile desert world.

The Separatists had immediately put the surviving droid factories to work, and were in the process of building more, when the Republic's armies invaded. Anakin and Ahsoka had been part of the massive invasion, working alongside Obi-Wan, Ki-Adi Mundi and _Luminara Unduli_ , as well as her Padawan Barriss Offee.

The battle had been long and bloody, costing thousands of lives on both sides. As the Republic emerged victorious, the geonosian Archduke _Poggle the Lesser_ , retreated into the desert world's vast catacombs, and sought out the help of Geonosis' Queen _, Katrina the Great._

Anakin, Obi-Wan and Luminara were able to defeat the geonosian queen, but not before discovering something terrible. The geonosian queen was able to control her subjects, even undead ones, through the use of parasitic worms, that took over the victims' brains.

After the battle, Ahsoka and Barriss, both of whom had been injured during the fighting, were assigned to oversee a medical transport back to Republic controlled space. Unbeknownst to everyone, a "brain worm" infected clone, had smuggled more of the parasites aboard the ship. Not long after, the infected crew had turned on the two Padawans, who had to fight for their lives, trying to take back the ship.

To Ahsoka's bad luck, Barriss was also infected soon after, leaving the togruta girl alone to fend for herself. Ahsoka had managed to turn off the ship's heating systems, causing the transport to gradually freeze inside out. Freezing was the only effective way to kill the brain parasites, after they had taken over someone's mind.

Fortunately, most of the crew, as well as Barriss, survived the whole ordeal. Ahsoka had though been traumatized by the event, and it had taken her some time to recover mentally. Anakin had been a big help to her in that, doing all he could, to take her mind off those memories.

In fact, Anakin was the reason, why she had even survived that whole event, as the young human Jedi Knight had not stopped at anything, in order to get the information about the brain worms' weakness.

Unbeknownst to Ahsoka, and the other Jedi participating in the aftermath of the battle, Anakin had used torture, to get what he wanted. He had given himself to the Dark Side for a moment, using the Force to strangle the geonosian archduke Poggle. Just like when he had given into his rage, slaughtering the entire tribe of Tusken Raiders, who killed his mother, Anakin had come back to his senses, as soon as Poggle had given him the answers he demanded.

The human Jedi Knight was thankful, that his apprentice had never figures out that detail, as it would surely be bad influence to her. But, if anything, it only showed Anakin's unwavering commitment to the person he cared so much about.

Sighing slightly, Anakin placed his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.

"Well... good thing we've put that all behind us. And don't worry... we'll get through this, just like we always have.." He said with a smile, looking at his shaking Padawan.

"You saved me back there... just like you did on Geonosis..." Ahsoka then said quietly, her icy blue eyes turning to look into Anakin's. The human Jedi raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Well... of course I did.. why wouldn't I have?" He asked, not quite sure what his apprentice was getting at. Ahsoka still shivered slightly from the cold, her breath fogging up the air.

"I just... no one has ever gone as far, as you have, to keep me safe..." She answered, looking into Anakin's eyes. The human man scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I mean... I'm your Master.. so of course I'll do everything I can, to keep you safe, and see that your teaching goes well.." He explained, but his apprentice shook her head.

"I don't just mean that, master... I mean.. why do you never give up on me? I've given you plenty of opportunities to just give up, and end my training... but you always just shrug it off, and continue as normal. You took a chance at me, the very first day I became your Padawan. I just... I guess I'm trying to figure out, why you want me to stay with you.. be your apprentice..." Ahsoka said quietly, her expression seemingly confused, and curious. That caught the human Jedi Knight by surprise, and he simply opened his mouth.

"Oh... uuh... well... I... I don't really know, how to answer that, Ahsoka. I remember saying, that you'd make it best, as my apprentice, and not Obi-Wan's. I think that you and I are very much alike... which makes it all the more reasonable, for you to be my Padawan." He explained, scratching the back of his neck again. A slight smile appeared on Ahsoka's face.

"Yeah... I feel the same way. I remember being so depressed, when I thought that you wouldn't accept me as your apprentice. But when you said, that you'd take me... I just felt so incredibly happy.." She said with a smile, as she kept looking at her Jedi Master. Before Anakin could answer, Ahsoka suddenly blushed heavily, and tried to hide it, by touching her face with her hand.

"Oh... silly me... I just realized, how that last part could be interpreted.." She said, still smiling, though her cheeks red from blushing. Anakin now understood it too, and blushed slightly as well, scratching his head.

"Oh... yeah... right.. I.. I know you didn't mean it like that..." He answered, looking to another direction, to try to hide his embarrassment.

The awkwardness of the situation though only increased, as the two of them stayed silent, avoiding eye contact. Anakin felt like a teenager, feeling embarrassed about such a thing. But he cursed himself, for even thinking about such things regarding his own apprentice; the person he was supposed to be a good example for.

After a moment, a slight breeze from the outside came through the largely sealed off entrance. The gust of wind made Ahsoka shiver more, as she quite clearly was freezing. Anakin shivered slightly as well, though he was nowhere near as cold as his Padawan, and he had lived much of his life on a desert planet, which only made it more ironic.

The human Jedi Knight then slowly moved closer to his apprentice, sitting down right next to her. The light of the lamp was starting to go out, which only raised more worry to Anakin. He nudged Ahsoka's shoulder, causing her to look at him again.

"Come here, Snips..." He said quietly, spreading his arms. Ahsoka raised her brows slightly, shivering.

"...what? What are you doing..?" She asked, her voice trembling from the cold. Anakin was cold as well, though he chuckled slightly.

"I'm gonna keep you warm.. what else? Now come on.. I don't want to see you turn into a popsicle..." The human said, before pulling his Padawan close to him. Anakin pulled Ahsoka in for a tight embrace, his hands rubbing against her body, in order to get her a bit warmer.

"There you go... I'll keep you as warm as I can..." He said quietly, holding his apprentice tightly against him. Ahsoka didn't find any words to say, her clear blue eyes only stared at her Jedi Master.

"Here... give me your hands.." Anakin then said, in a soothing voice. Ahsoka raised her brows, and lifted her hands. Her master took them, and brought them near his mouth. Anakin gently released his warm breath on them, before using his hand to rub them.

Ahsoka opened her mouth, as she really could not find any words to say. The amount of amazement she felt right now, was overwhelming. Anakin was so caring, so gentle, so... loving, towards her right now; it made her almost tear up.

"You... you're... amazing.." She whispered, her eyes staring at Anakin. The human man turned his eyes to look at her, a slight smile appearing on his face. He moved his hand to Ahsoka's cheek, his thumb gently rubbing it.

"Ahsoka... there's nothing I wouldn't do, to keep you alive and safe. Aside from Obi-Wan.. you're the only person in my life, that I care the most about. We haven't worked together for more than a year.. but you've already become the most important person in my life... and I don't want to lose you.." Anakin said quietly, looking into his Padawan's eyes.

Ahsoka couldn't believe her ears. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She had never heard someone say that about her; she had never felt like this. She had never before felt, like that she truly mattered to someone; that she truly was important, and essential to someone's life.

She knew how strongly she was attached to Anakin; she knew how much she needed him in her life. But right now, she felt like she was in love with him, for the first time in her life. For the first time in her life, Ahsoka felt like she had found the person, to whom her heart belonged, the person who she wanted to be with, forever.

She knew how bad it would be, how wrong, and how much it'd be against the Jedi Code. But right now, Ahsoka just wanted to push her lips against her master's; to just hold this moment, and never let go of it. She slowly moved her hand to Anakin's cheek, gently touching it, while staring into his blue eyes.

"I... I never want to lose you either.. master..." She could only whisper, even if she wanted to do so much more. Anakin smiled, and moved his face closer to hers. He pressed his forehead against hers, their noses almost touching.

"Then I'll never let go of you, Ahsoka... I'll always be at your side.." The human Jedi Knight whispered. Ahsoka bit her lip, wanting to kiss him so badly. She moved her face even closer, making their noses actually touch.

"Please do... Ani.." She whispered back, feeling how her and Anakin's breathing hit each other.

The two of them stayed like this, tightly embracing one another, and keeping each other warm. Ahsoka closed her eyes, leaning her head against Anakin's upper torso. Her Master kept her in his arms, as she slowly fell asleep, getting much deserved rest, after such physically demanding hours.

 **Several hours later...**

The muffled sound of shoveling and digging made Anakin open his eyes, waking up from the sleep he had been in. The human Jedi looked to the direction of the cave's entrance, seeing that someone was trying to get in, by digging through the snow.

He then glanced down, seeing that Ahsoka was sleeping, still safely in his arms. A smile appeared on his face, as he moved his hand to touch her cheek. His fingers gracefully traced along her face, touching her soft skin. She hummed quietly, beginning to wake up.

"Rise and shine, little one... I think the cavalry's here.." Anakin said quietly, his smile becoming wider, as he kept his eyes on the cute togruta, who groaned ever so slightly.

"I'm.. busy..." Ahsoka whispered, hugging him tighter, and keeping her eyes closed. That made the young human man chuckle, as he softly touched her cheek again.

"If you want to sleep in my arms in the future, just come knock on my door on the _Resolute_. I'm sure we can make some arrangements..." Anakin said with a chuckle, which made his young Padawan open her eyes. A slight blush appeared on her face, as she processed her Master's words.

"Oh... no.. I mean... I didn't want to suggest.. that we'd like... sleep in the same bed or anything in the future..." She started to explain, her blue eyes now completely open. Anakin chuckled more, and winked his eye at her.

"I'm pulling your leg, Snips.. don't worry." He assured with a chuckle. Ahsoka's blush didn't disappear, as she fiddled with her hands.

"Yeah... of course you are.." She answered, laughing nervously for a moment.

As the two still held each other in their arms, the snow from the cave's entrance was gradually shoveled off. After a minute or two, the entrance had been completely cleared, and several cold environment fitted armor wearing clone troopers made their way inside.

Anakin lifted his glance up, seeing the clones approach him and Ahsoka. Among the 501st troopers, was the Jedi Knight's second-in-command, Captain Rex; CC-7567 by his number. A smile appeared on Anakin's face, as the clone captain approached them.

"What took you so long, Rex?" The Jedi Knight asked with a slight smirk. The clone captain saluted him quickly, as his subordinates surrounded the two Jedi.

"Apologies, General. We had to land, and fight the Seppies in the capital city for hours, before we could mount a rescue party.." Rex explained, which made his commanding officer raise his eyebrows.

"Did you win? The battle's not over, is it?" Anakin asked, which caused the clone to chuckle.

"Not just yet, sir.. but the worst is over. I don't think you and Commander Tano should participate in the 'cleaning work', though... you've been through a lot too." Rex explained, before signaling one of the clones to him.

" _Kix_ , check on them.." The Captain ordered, which motioned the clone trooper medic, Kix, to quickly make his way to Anakin and Ahsoka, who slowly let go of each other. Kix quickly checked both of them, looking for any medical anomalies in the two.

"Well... they don't have hypothermia, and the blunt force trauma seems to be minor at most.." The medic informed, after checking both Anakin and his Padawan. Rex hummed quietly, nodding in acknowledgment.

"Good. But still; I recommend that you two make your way back to the Resolute, and have the medical crew take a closer look." The Captain suggested. Anakin got up, and helped his Padawan to stand up as well.

"I'll join you in routing the rest of the droids, Rex.. I don't need medical attention..." He assured, but his clone subordinate shook his head.

"Sir, in times of emergency, I'm allowed to overrule your command. And since you've been in the cold for hours.. I see this as an emergency." Rex said, having his hands on his waist. Anakin figured, that there was no arguing with the clone. He quickly glanced at Ahsoka, who rubbed her arm. He then sighed, and nodded.

"Alright.. fine. I guess me and my Padawan can spend more quality time together.. at the med bay..." He said, shrugging his shoulders. Ahsoka bit her lip, after hearing that, having started to enjoy spending any time with the young human man. Rex saluted the two, nodding his head.

"I will rally the men, and drive the droid army off this planet, General... you can count on me." The clone assured. Anakin smiled, and patted the captain's armored shoulder.

"I know, Rex. I'll meet you after the battle then... good luck.." The human Jedi said, to which Rex answered with an acknowledging nod.

After that, Rex led a squad of his clones out of the cave, intending to board an LAAT/i gunship, and return to the battle. Anakin glanced at his Padawan, and smiled, giving her shoulder a pat.

"Let's go, Snips.." He said to his togruta Padawan, who silently nodded her head.

As they left the cave to board another gunship, Ahsoka could only think about what had happened in the last hours. Her heart was racing, just from thinking about what she had felt, lying in Anakin's arms. She smiled, as she came to terms about her feelings for him.

But that also made her dread slightly, as she was afraid, that her feelings would develop even further. If this were to happen, there was no telling what could happen then. Ahsoka shook her head slightly, wanting to get her mind off such things right now.

She followed her Master outside, and they began walking towards a gunship. Her eyes continued to wander on Anakin, and a smile appeared on her face every time it happened. She had become romantically attached to the young man, that was for certain...

 **Present day...**

R2-D2 chirped in a high-pitched voice, as his small claw arm, and a soldering iron, worked on Anakin's lightly armored arm piece, which had his comlink device attached to it. The astromech droid detached the comlink from the arm piece, allowing his human owner to take it into his hands.

"Remember when R2 was lost, after the _Battle of Bothawui_? You got me that replacement droid _R3-S6_ , or whatever it was..." Anakin said, looking at the damaged comlink in his hands. Ahsoka, who was in her kitchen, scoffed loudly.

"Are you seriously never going to forget about that?" The togruta girl asked, smiling widely, as she went through her kitchen's drawers.

"Well, that piece of scrap metal did turn out to be a Separatist spy, remember? And you were very much in favor of not going ahead, and rescue R2, and instead just keep that stupid spy droid..." Anakin answered, looking to the direction of the kitchen. Ahsoka appeared on the doorway, leaning on the wall, and having her arms folded.

"Didn't I apologize for that like a million times? And you know I love Artooie..." She said. R2 replied with a cheery beep, which made the togruta girl chuckle.

"See? He agrees with me." She noted with a laugh. Anakin smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose it was a happy ending, although I still remember just how worried I was, when you faced off against Grievous all alone..." He said a bit quieter, and Ahsoka's smile faded.

"Well... I got through it unharmed, so it all turned out just fine, Anakin. Your encounter with Grievous didn't go as well.." She answered, still leaning on the doorframe. Anakin's heart skipped a beat, as he remembered just what had happened with Grievous. He was quiet for a moment, biting his lip.

"Uh... well, yeah.. but... there was some merit to that defeat; I got reunited with you.." The human man said with a slight smile. Anakin knew, that he was intentionally not telling Ahsoka about Huon's death, as he believed that it was best to remain a secret right now.

"You always manage to find positive things, no matter the situation, hmm?" Ahsoka noted, folding her arms. Anakin smiled, and shrugged his shoulders again.

"It's one of my charms, I would say." He answered simply. Ahsoka rolled her eyes, smiling. She then seemed to think of something, which made her chuckle.

"I remember, when R2 saved your and Master Windu's lives.. back when that clone 'son' of Jango Fett tried to kill you." She said, which made her former Master raise his eyebrows

"Yeah... I got pretty badly injured.." Anakin replied, to which his former apprentice nodded, though still smiling.

"Thanks to R2, I got you back. It's funny... I remember being so happy to see you safe, that I could have just landed a big kiss on you.." Ahsoka said, her smile widening. That made Anakin's eyes widen, and he smiled as well.

"Huh.. you know... that just made me remember something about that... about a kiss.." He said, his blue eyes locking with the togruta's. Ahsoka's heart jumped to her throat, and her eyes widened. She bit her lip, and began fiddling with her hands. That certainly had caught her off guard.

"Oh... uh... right... I.." She stuttered quietly, looking to her feet, and fiddling with her hands. Anakin could swear, that a slight blush appeared on the girl's face, which made her smile more.

"I... I just checked my drawers; there's not enough food for us both, so I need to go do some shopping.." Ahsoka then said, abruptly changing the subject. Anakin raised his eyebrow slightly, though still smiling.

"Okay, well.. I'll come with you." He said quickly, leaning back on the couch he was sitting on. Ahsoka still fiddled with her hands.

"You sure? Don't you need to repair the comlink?" She asked, but her former master smiled, and shook his head.

"R2 can handle it, Snips. Come on... I want to get out a bit." Anakin replied, standing up from the couch. The togruta girl bit her lip, before nodding.

"Okay then... put the rest of your clothes on then. We'll need to go to _Mos Espa_ , as I used the Force, the last time I was in Anchorhead... I need to stay away from there for a while.." She explained, which made Anakin raise his eyebrow.

"Used the Force? What did you do..?" He asked, to which Ahsoka sighed, and waved her hand off dismissively.

"Just took care of a thug.. but the Hutts persecute any and all Force users, even non-Jedi. So I really have to keep away from Anchorhead for a while..." She explained. Anakin hummed quietly, but nodded.

"Alright.. if you say so. Give me a minute, and we'll go.." The man said, before starting to pick up his clothes, as he still was shirtless. Ahsoka bit her lip, and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Take your time, Ani.." She said, before making a hasty retreat back to her kitchen, where she grabbed her bag.

The two of them prepared for the next few moments, before leaving Ahsoka's home, and starting their journey towards Mos Espa; the spaceport city, that was located over a dozen kilometers away.

 **...**

The large throne room in the massive Sith-built temple on Yavin 4, was empty and quiet, only faint gusts of wind blowing through its large window frames. The massive hall was relatively safe from the rain outside, though some water came through the window frames, as they had no glass protecting them.

The Dark Jedi Barriss Offee, gowned in a dark outfit, slowly walked into the throne room, a hood covering her head. The 21 year old former Jedi gracefully walked down the small set of stairs, before starting the long walk across the large room.

She was an exceptionally beautiful member of the mirialan species, who were traditionally seen as good looking by humans, and other near-human species. Barriss had always been a chaste woman, shrouding her head in a hood even during her time with the Jedi, giving her the reputation of a pure, devoted individual.

Even after she had given herself to her demons, which caused her to betray the Order, and frame her friend of murder, Barriss remained her Jedi self, only now being devoted to the idea of her comrades being war criminals, and immoral.

Her final fall to the Dark Side was quick, as her dark persona grew stronger, after her imprisonment. Darth Sidious had approached her, finding it easy to sway the young woman to fully devote herself to the Dark Side. Barriss had abandoned everything she had once believed in with such strong conviction, changing into a completely different person.

Barriss had then devoted her life to impressing Lord Sidious, and try to become his new apprentice, so that she could one day become even more powerful than him. But before the prestigious Dark Lord would accept her, she'd need to assassinate his former apprentice; Darth Maul, and Count Dooku's former assassin and apprentice, Asajj Ventress.

To this end, Barriss had ventured to Yavin 4, where the shamed zabrak Sith had taken refuge from his hunters. The mirialan woman continued walking across the large room, her footsteps echoing in the empty hall. She senses that someone was indeed in this throne room, but she didn't know where.

As she got to the other end of the hall, to the start of the other small set of stairs, Barriss could feel something approaching her. She heard the sound of a lightsaber activating, and a sudden male voice yelling.

With lightning reflexes, the mirialan Dark Jedi lunged forward, as someone landed on the ground behind her. She jumped up in the air using the Force, which gave her a lot more lift. Barriss landed on the top of the stairwell, right in front of the ancient Sith throne. She looked down, and could see a roughed up, dirty red skinned zabrak man, panting heavily at the start of the stairwell, a red bladed lightsaber in his hands.

"Who are you!? What do you want!?" Darth Maul demanded loudly, breathing heavily. Barriss took off her hood, revealing her olive hued skin, and traditional mirialan tattoos, as well as her short black hair.

The woman smirked, and grabbed her lightsaber hilt, activating it, and brandishing its blue blade. Barriss had not created a new lightsaber, after joining Darth Sidious, and was instead given her old Jedi lightsaber to use, up until her formal admittance to the ranks of the Sith Order.

Maul frowned slightly, as he saw the woman's blue lightsaber.

"You're a Jedi? But... I sense the Dark Side in you.." He said, being confused. Barriss let out a quiet chuckle, smirking at the zabrak male.

"Lord Sidious ordered me to come find you... and that is exactly what I have done." She proclaimed proudly. Maul sighed, and shook his head, looking tired and frustrated.

"Why won't he leave me alone?! I came here to get away from him, the Sith, the Jedi... all of it! I just want to be left alone!" The zabrak Sith said in a desperate voice.

Maul's entire body was filled with wounds, cuts, and other injuries, clearly showing how much punishment he had taken in the recent months. Not to mention his entire lower body was cybernetic replacements; a grim reminder to him of his defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, thirteen years earlier.

"You can never escape the wrath of the Sith, Maul... it's time for you to face your judgment.." Barriss declared, swinging her lightsaber once. Maul breathed heavily, raising his lightsaber to defend himself.

"I'll never come alive... you'll have to kill me." He said determinately. Barriss smirked devilishly, letting out a quiet chuckle.

"That's the idea.." She replied, before suddenly leaping up in the air.

The mirialan Dark Jedi came down, raising her lightsaber for an attack. Maul dodged the attack, doing a back flip, getting himself to safety, as Barriss landed on the floor. The zabrak Sith swung his lightsaber around, preparing himself for combat.

"Don't be sloppy now, girl..." The man said, pointing his blade at Barriss, who rolled her eyes, and scoffed.

The woman then spun around, approaching Maul with her lightsaber swinging wildly, making it hard for the zabrak to anticipate, where her attacks would land. Barriss got only a few feet away from Maul, when she brought down her blade, an attack which the former Sith Lord deflected with his own.

Barriss hit Maul's blade a few times more, before jumping over him. Maul turned around, as the Dark Jedi landed behind him. The mirialan deactivated her lightsaber, and spun around on her feet again. Barriss detached the clamps, that held her cloak in, and threw the piece of clothing away. Removing the cloak revealed her obsidian black garments, which were rather tightly wrapped around her body, displaying her attractive feminine body features.

Maul clenched his teeth together, as his mirialan opponent took the traditional _Form III "Soresu"_ lightsaber form's opening stance. The zabrak Sith then lunged forward, attempting to slash his lightsaber at Barriss, utilizing the highly aggressive and acrobatic Juyo form.

Barriss deflected the series of Maul's attacks, her mastery of Soresu giving her an edge, when it came to defense. Although Form III was mostly meant for defense against blaster fire, it also worked rather well against melee based weapons, such as _vibroswords_ , and lightsabers.

Maul kept attacking his opponent, giving into his rage. He roared loudly, as he kept hitting Barriss' blade with his own, but could not find any opening. As the zabrak tired himself down, the mirialan woman suddenly found an opening. Barriss quickly hit Maul's blade in an uppercut style of an attack, which made him lose his footing, and stagger back. The female then slashed her lightsaber lower, landing a hit on Maul's left cybernetic leg.

The zabrak groaned in anger, as the hit made him lose his balance. It didn't hurt him, as his legs were metal and electronics; but it was frustrating for him nonetheless. Barriss spun around again, and slashed her blade at Maul's head this time. The zabrak Sith countered with raising his lightsaber blade in defense. Their weapons hit each other, locking them together, as they physically attempted to push each other back.

"Your mix of both Jedi teaching, and Dark Side usage is sloppy.. unpolished... you have much to learn, pretender..." Maul taunted, having found confidence, as Barriss was not exactly at the level of his former Sith Master. The mirialan frowned deeply, managing to push her opponent back slightly.

"Killing you will be the start of my Sith apprenticeship... and I will not fail; I've become stronger than I ever was with the Jedi, by embracing the Dark Side!" Barriss replied, anger filling her. Maul scoffed slightly, shaking his head.

"You'll find just how unforgiving the Sith are... and you will not survive it. You failed as a Jedi... and you'll fail as a Sith as well!" He shouted, clenching his teeth together.

Barriss frowned deeply, Maul's words only fueling her rage. She clenched her teeth together, managing to push the zabrak Sith back. Their blade lock ended, Barriss being able to slash her lightsaber at Maul, which staggered him back. The zabrak panted slightly, the attack making him turn around, and try to regain his balance.

Barriss smirked, and saw an opportunity with Maul turning his back on her. Instead of quickly stabbing him in the back however, the mirialan Dark Jedi extended her left hand towards Maul, sparks of lightning suddenly shooting out of her fingertips. The lightning hit the zabrak in his back, which made him yell out in intense pain, and fall back.

Barriss had only recently learned the practice of _Force lightning_ , which was one of the oldest, and most destructive Dark Side Force techniques. Darth Sidious was arguably the strongest Force lightning user of the recent years, and the young mirialan woman felt honored to have been taught in the ways of the storm, by its greatest living user.

Maul screeched in pain, as Barriss kept electrocuting him. The zabrak Sith had grown terrified of the lightning, as he had been subjected to its torture many times before. The woman stopped after a moment, allowing her opponent to catch a breath. Maul breathed heavily, his legs almost giving in.

"Tired yet, Maul?" She asked in a taunting manner, utilizing the _Dun Möch_ technique, which many Sith and Dark Jedi used to psychologically weaken their opponents, by making them doubt their abilities, or to simply instill fear upon them.

"You... you witch! You're just like him... but you'll never become a Sith Lord... ever.." The zabrak answered, raising his lightsaber yet again.

Maul lunged at Barriss again, attempting to strike her with strength. The female Dark Jedi simply smirked, and launched another barrage of lightning at him, before he got too close. The electricity made the zabrak Sith stagger back again, his pained screams echoing in the large hall again.

Barriss barraged Maul with lightning for a few moments more, before stopping again. The zabrak Sith Lord panted heavily, his legs shivering. Small amounts of smoke rose from his body, a common aftereffect from Force lightning. The female Dark Jedi smiled, swinging her lightsaber nonchalantly.

"Any last words?" Barriss asked with a smirk. Maul sighed long, being out of breath.

"Not to you... pretender!" The zabrak lashed out loudly, before suddenly slashing his lightsaber at the mirialan in front of him. Barriss easily dodged the attack, quickly stepping behind Maul, who had lunged himself forward, attacking her.

The man turned around, and was met with the attacking mirialan woman, who now lashed out at him. Barriss kept hitting Maul, who deflected each of her attacks, though falling back with each hit. The two of them moved a few meters closer to the stairway again, that led to the throne.

With a well placed hit, Barriss managed to make her opponent stagger again, and leave his entire front unprotected. She could have ended the battle with this yet again, but the female mirialan chose against it. Instead, she pushed Maul with the Force, making him fall back a few meters.

Maul hit the stairwell, and fell back on the floor, rolling down the steps. He came to a halt at the root of the stairs, lying on the cold floor. The zabrak breathed heavily, slowly trying to push himself up. As an act of complete desperation, and pent-up frustration, Maul grabbed his lightsaber, activated it, and threw it at Barriss.

The female Dark Jedi athletically bent her back, dodging the incoming lightsaber blade, while suddenly slashing her own blade at it. She skillfully cut Maul's lightsaber hilt in half, as it went over her body. The two halves of the hilt then flew through the air, falling to the floor a short moment later.

Maul let out a tired, sorrowful breath, closing his eyes in desperation. He then forced himself up, his legs barely holding him anymore. The defeated zabrak panted, and motioned Barriss to "come at him". The mirialan smirked devilishly, and slowly walked towards him, suddenly launching yet another barrage of Force lightning on him.

Maul fell back on the floor, screaming in agony. Barriss smirked more, continuing to torture the zabrak Sith with her lightning powers, as she approached him. Maul squirmed on the floor, as the electricity ran through his body. Barriss stopped, standing over him. She ended the torture, allowing Maul to shiver in pain on the floor. The disgraced Sith Lord seemed like he was about to cry, as he slowly got up on his knees.

"Please... stop... please... no more.. I beg you!" Maul pleaded, lifting his hands up in surrendering. Barriss smirked, basking in her opponents agony. Few tears rolled down the zabrak's cheeks.

"Please... just kill me... end this suffering... please.." He begged, wanting to finally be rid of the pain. Barriss swung her lightsaber around, before raising it higher, and holding onto it with both of her hands.

"Goodbye... Darth Maul.." She said quietly, before bringing her lightsaber down. Maul closed his eyes, as the blade struck him across his neck, and upper chest.

An eerie silence fell to the entire throne room, as Maul's dead body fell on the floor. Barriss stood still for a moment, her lightsaber emitting the only noise in the hall. She breathed heavier, her mouth slightly open. The blue blade of her lightsaber was retracted, as she deactivated the weapon. She then took a deep breath, spreading her arms wide, and letting the residue Force energy from Maul fill her with a sense of satisfaction.

Barriss opened her eyes, the Force giving them a glowing yellowish hue, as she was deeply immersed in the Dark Side right now. She let out a long breath, a smile appearing on her face. She felt a rush of adrenaline in her veins, the thrill of the kill, and the euphoric feel, that the Dark Side gave her; it was like a drug.

Her victorious moment was interrupted by the echoing sounds of clapping, coming from behind her. Barriss turned around, and could see Sora Bulq, slowly walking towards her across the large throne room, clapping his hands in an uninterested, rather disappointed way.

"Impressive... most impressive, young Barriss... but you're not a Sith yet.." The weequay male said, stopping several meters away from the young mirialan, who frowned, and scoffed.

"And neither are you.." She answered to him, which made Bulq groan quietly, and start to approach her again.

"Unfortunately.. but I will get my opportunity one day as well. The question is... will you be in my way, when that happens?" He asked, stopping a few meters away from Barriss, as if almost challenging her. The mirialan rolled her eyes, folding her arms.

"The only thing I care about, is my own training, and ascension to Sith mastery. But make no mistake; if you prove to be an obstacle to me... I will destroy you.." Barriss assured, taking a challenging step towards the weequay Dark Jedi. Bulq frowned deeply, anger clearly filling him.

"You weren't this confident and arrogant, when you were a Jedi. You are skilled, definitely.. but you give yourself too much credit. A Sith always needs to be on alert.. always expect to be attacked. As a Sith... there are no friends.. no real allies; you can only rely on yourself..." The weequay man explained, staring into Barriss' yellowish eyes, that were beginning to return to their blue self.

As the two of them silently stared at each other for a moment, Barriss began to feel something through the Force. She frowned slightly, as she had no idea, what she was sensing. Her eyes widened, as she suddenly sensed that something was approaching her from the behind.

With lightning reflexes, she grabbed her lightsaber, and activated it. Barriss spun around, striking an object, that flew at her from behind. Two halves of a stone flew past her then, also flying past Bulq, hitting the ground after a few meters. Bulq had thrown a stone at her with the Force, and she had nearly been blind sighted by it.

Barriss panted slightly, as she held her lightsaber tightly in her hands. She turned around, glancing at Bulq, who had taken his lightsaber hilt to his right hand. The weequay Dark Jedi stared at her, his expression stern.

"At least your senses aren't completely distracted... that's a start. Now.. let's see if you can survive against _Vapaad_.." Bulq said calmly, before activating his lightsaber, a red blade brandishing from the hilt. Barriss frowned deeply, taking on the Form III opening stance. That made her weequay rival chuckle.

"Soresu? Are you kidding? This will be easy..." He said, a slight smirk appearing on his face. That irritated Barriss, and she frowned more, preparing herself.

"Don't make false promises to yourself... I killed Maul with this.. and I will do the same to you!" She said, clenching her teeth together.

Before Bulq could attack himself, Barriss lunged at him, rage having filled her again. The two Dark Jedi struck their blades together, entering a struggle of physical power, and mental resolve.

 **...**

The boarding ramp of a Nu-class attack shuttle lowered, hitting the sandy ground of Tatooine. A short moment later, two Jedi, wearing dusty robes on top of their Jedi apparel, stepped out of the ship, being flanked by two clone pilots, who pushed a _BARC_ _speeder_ out.

The kiffar male Jedi Master, Quinlan Vos, covered his eyes with his hand, as the glaring twin suns of the desert planet shined on him and his former apprentice, the twi'lek Aayla Secura.

"Glad to see this planet is still a hot piece of empty sand dunes..." The kiffar male said in a sarcastic voice. His apprentice hummed quietly, covering her head with a hood.

"What were you doing, when you were here over ten years ago, Master?" Aayla asked, her eyes glancing around the large empty area, that they were in. Her master chuckled slightly, stretching out after the long shuttle ride.

"I was undercover, trying to topple a slave trafficking ring. I had to spend at least two months on this 'God' forsaken rock..." Quinlan answered, stroking his stubble. His former Padawan learner let out a small chuckle, her eyes travelling on her master.

"You had me stay at the Temple all that time. You've no idea, how bored I got, studying in the Temple's library..." She said with a smile. Quinlan chuckled, and nodded in agreement.

"I hear you.. but you were 16 back then, Aayla. It was far too dangerous for me to take you with me. Especially since the whole mission ended up getting messy..." The man explained, stroking his chin again, as the memories came back to him.

"Well.. this time it won't get messy, Quinlan. We'll just swoop in, find Anakin, and get out of here... the Hutts won't even know that we were here." The twi'lek Jedi Master assured, patting her partner's shoulder.

After that, the two of them turned around, seeing that their clone subordinates had prepared the speeder for them to use. The clones stood straight, saluting them both.

"All ready, Generals. We'll get out of here, and rendezvous with 6th Fleet. Just contact Admiral Kilran, if you need the 327th Corps to come and help.." One of the pilots said. Quinlan and Aayla nodded at him in acknowledgment.

"Let's hope it won't come to that.. but we'll keep it in mind, Falcon. Fly safely, and avoid being detected." The twi'lek Jedi Master said, returning the salute. The two clone pilots nodded in acknowledgment, giving their commanding officers one last salute.

"You bet, General. Good luck." The clone pilot, nicknamed "Falcon" answered, after which he and his co-pilot, turned around, and boarded the Nu-class shuttle.

As the shuttle's boarding ramp closed, and the clone pilots sat down on the seats, that lifted them to the cockpit, Aayla turned back around, to see her former master get on the BARC speeder. The kiffar man activated the speeder, turning on its engine. The vehicle came to life, and immediately lifted off the ground, starting float a meter or so in the air. Quinlan then looked at his former apprentice, nodding his head back.

"Well.. hop on, Aayla." He said, waiting for his Padawan to get on the bike. Aayla rolled her eyes slightly, smiling as she got on the speeder, sitting down behind her Jedi Master.

"Just be careful not to crash... I'd hate to ruin these good looking dirty robes.." She said sarcastically, sitting on the seat behind her master, who was piloting the speeder.

BARC speeders were usually one-seated, but there were two-seated versions, as well as versions, that had a sidecar attached to them. These combat speeder bikes were usually used for reconnaissance, but their armament made them excellent attack vehicles as well.

"Be careful what you wish for, Aayla; I can't guarantee that my driving skills haven't gotten rusty yet.." Quinlan said, shrugging his shoulders. His former Padawan sighed, knowing that he was joking, which made him smirk slightly. He enjoyed pulling Aayla's leg, although he knew, that she had gotten so used to it by now, that she barely reacted to it anymore.

The kiffar man then revved the speeder's engine, before taking off the break, which launched the vehicle forward. In the following moments, the BARC speeder took off, and flew a few meters off the ground, reaching the speeds of nearly 200 kilometers per hour in mere seconds.

After the speeder had left, the Jedi officers riding on it, the clone pilots of the Nu-class shuttle, turned on the ship's engines. A few moments later, the spacecraft took off from the ground, pushing dust and sand all around.

The shuttle turned towards the sky, and fired up its engines, which sent it flying up. The Republic ship quickly ascended to Tatooine's atmosphere, and on to its orbit, where it could jump to lightspeed, and escape the watching eyes of Hutt patrol craft.

 **...**

The large empty throne room of Naga Sadow's temple on Yavin 4, was filled with the echoing sounds of two lightsaber blades hitting each other. The weequay Dark Jedi Sora Bulq, aggressively slashed his weapon at the young Barriss, who took steps back, every time her opponent hit his lightsaber against hers.

The mirialan Dark Jedi had not been able to get much offensive in, as Bulq had quickly overwhelmed her with his use of Vapaad. Barriss was getting out of breath, as the weequay kept striking at her, forcing her to put extreme effort into deflecting all of his attacks.

Bulq's skills in lightsaber combat were far greater, than that of Barriss', and he was showing it. The weequay man spun around, slashing his blade yet again at his opponent, which made her stagger back. Barriss gasped, as Bulq was able to expose her side, by hitting her lightsaber with a strong attack, that staggered her.

The weequay Dark Jedi smirked, as he saw this as an excellent opportunity, to strike the upstart Barriss down. As he raised his lightsaber, bringing it down for a killing blow, Barriss managed to dodge the attack, jumping to the side, from where she quickly moved behind him.

Bulq frowned deeply, turning around. Barriss bit her lip, her hands sweating, as she had become unsure of her ability to defeat the weequay man. She quickly attempted to impale Bulq, spearing her lightsaber blade forward. The man dodged the attack, stepping aside. Before Barriss could react, Bulq hit her in the face with the back of his left hand.

The young woman staggered back again, touching her cheek with her hand. Bulq shook his head in disappointment, swinging his lightsaber around. Barriss breathed heavily, her confidence having all but disappeared now.

"Just as I thought; you are skilled enough to kill a weakened Sith Lord... but not skilled enough to defeat me. Your enthusiasm is not enough, Barriss... you need to push yourself to be exactly what you want to be!" Bulq lectured her, taking a step towards her. Barriss frowned deeply, hating the weequay for patronizing her so blatantly.

"You won't be feeling so high and mighty, after I slice that wrinkly head of yours off your shoulders!" The mirialan woman shouted back, squeezing the lightsaber in her hands. Her opponent rolled his eyes, holding his weapon tighter.

"Persistent to the end.." The weequay man said with a slight sigh.

Barriss had waited for this however, having bought herself some time to prepare, as her opponent had been talking. Bulq raised his lightsaber, and slashed at her again, but this time, she was prepared. Barriss ducked, avoiding the slashing strike. She got down low with her legs, before sweeping around, slashing her own blade at Bulq's legs.

Her lightsaber's blade slashed the weequay's left leg, creating a small cut on it, which immediately cauterized itself, as lightsaber wounds usually did. Bulq hissed in pain, falling on one knee. Barriss immediately got up, and quickly sidestepped next to Bulq, and raising her weapon, intending to finish him off quickly, as she had done with Maul.

She took a short breath, her heart racing. Was she really about to kill Sora Bulq as well? Killing not one, but to strong Dark Side users would skyrocket her into Darth Sidious' apprenticeship. She then brought her blade down, attempting to cut her opponent's head right off.

Bulq had an ace up his sleeve though, as he quickly grabbed his short lightsaber, commonly called _shoto_ , from his waist, and activated it. Barriss wasn't fast enough to react, as she struck her blade down, and Bulq skillfully and effectively slashed his shoto against her weapon. The short lightsaber's blade cut the upper half of the mirialan Dark Jedi's lightsaber hilt, destroying the weapon.

Barriss gasped, her mouth wide open. Bulq immediately followed with getting up, and quickly kneeing her in the stomach. That made the young woman lose all the air in her lungs, and forced her on her knees, coughing violently. She dropped the lower half of her cut lightsaber hilt, it having become useless.

The weequay Dark Jedi stood over the downed mirialan, his face stern and emotionless. Bulq swung his lightsabers around, before bringing their blades to Barriss' neck, the plasma beams only inches away from her skin. She looked up, her heart pounding. She was scared, and she hated to admit it to herself.

"I knew you weren't anything special, Offee... Lord Sidious still sees something in you, and I can't imagine what..." Bulq said, holding the blades against Barriss' neck. The weequay stared at her, as she breathed heavier.

"I could kill you right now... I could just cut your head off. It'd be so easy..." He continued quietly, his expression really telling, just how much he wanted to kill his rival. Barriss kept staring at him silently, awaiting her imminent death. After a short moment, Bulq deactivated his lightsabers though, placing them back on his waist.

"But I won't do it... your Master would have me killed, if I executed his newest pet. Consider yourself lucky, Barriss.. because the next time, I **will** kill you..." The weequay man said, before he slowly walked past his rival, limping slightly.

Barriss breathed heavily, her heart not stopping its pounding. She had almost died, which was something the young woman had not anticipated to encounter. She had been in mortal danger before, but never had she almost been executed.

The mirialan took a deep breath, slowly calming down. She stood up, her heart finally calming its beating as well. Barriss turned around, and looked at Bulq, who was slowly limping towards the other end of the throne room.

"Now come on... we'll head back to _Serenno_ immediately. You'll get your chance to speak with both Lord Sidious and Tyranus there..." The weequay man said, limping away from his rival.

Barriss sighed deeply, looking around quickly. She looked back at Maul's dead body, as well as her destroyed lightsaber hilt. She then noticed her dark cloak a few meters away. The mirialan woman pulled the cloak to her with the Force, grabbing it from the air. She quickly put it on, after which she turned around, and started to head for the throne room's exit as well.

She would have to explain her success at defeating Darth Maul to her master, as well as her failure to best Sora Bulq in combat. If she'd be lucky, Darth Sidious would overlook her defeat at the hands of Bulq, and allow her to continue her training. If she was unlucky, then the great Sith Lord would likely allow both Bulq and Count Dooku to kill her slowly and painfully...

 **...**

The massive _Grand Convocation Chamber_ inside the Galactic Republic's _Senate Building_ on Coruscant, echoed with the sounds of applause, as the hundreds of Republic senators, and their delegates, showed their approval to the speaking Supreme Chancellor, who stood in his podium, which stood high in the middle of the large room.

In one of the repulsorpods attached to the large rotunda's walls, Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Ki-Adi Mundi, silently sat still, as they listened to Chancellor Palpatine's speech, which had been going on for a few minutes.

"It recently came to my attention, that the ruthless regimes inside the lawless Hutt Space, have executed over five thousand slaves. The near extinction of the _evocii_ people around six years ago, was perpetrated by the _Hutt Ruling Council_ itself.." Chancellor Palpatine explained to the Senate, which was met with a few quiet gasps.

"I received a message... sent to me personally by a poor slave girl, living on _Nal Hutta_. I have no information on how she could reach me.. but what she had to say was... unimaginable..." The elder human man continued, his face filled with sorrow. Obi-Wan silently looked on, his arms folded. He glanced at his fellow Masters, who were all listening in on the Chancellor.

"Her name was Shae... a 16 year old _nautolan_ girl. She had been a slave all her life, and she'd have continued to serve her ruthless masters forever more. Our skilled spies in the _Bothan Spy Network_ found out, that she died only a week after sending the message to me... having been fed to her Hutt masters' _nexu_ pets..." Palpatine said quietly, his expression telling the hundreds of senators around him, that he was holding back tears. After a moment of silence, the Chancellor's saddened expression turned to anger, as he frowned deeply.

"And it is for this reason, and for the sake of the millions of slaves, still helpless under the rule of their masters, that I have decided to take military action against the Hutt Empire!" The man then said louder, his voice becoming deeper, and more determined. This was met with a round of loud applause and cheers. The Jedi Masters in the repulsorpod, raised their eyebrows, as nearly the entire Senate rotunda, erupted into cheers.

"We will bring the Hutt crime families to justice, and liberate their slaves! After thousands of years, they will finally face judgment for their endless crimes against civilized society, and democracy!" Palpatine said loudly, his hand squeezed into a fist, as he addressed the Senate, who began cheering even more.

Obi-Wan silently stroked his bearded chin, hearing Master Yoda hum quietly next to him. It seemed that the Chancellor was really declaring war against the Hutts. The entire chamber was filled with cheering senators, who chanted Palpatine's name, and shouted things such as "Death to the Hutts!".

Only a few repulsorpods' passengers stayed quiet, being senators, who did not approve war and violence. As the chamber continued to be drowned in noise, Palpatine's aide, and the Vice Chancellor Mas Amedda, struck his staff on the podium's floor three times.

"Order! Order in the hall! We shall have order!" The male chagrian shouted, ordering the rowdy senators to calm down. In the following moments, the large chamber became quieter, as the senators sat down again, and silenced. Palpatine then took a deep breath, his expression returning to his normal, benevolent self.

"After we have brought security and freedom to the Hutt Space.. all of the planets and governments will be given the chance to join the Republic. We will purge them off corruption, and wickedness.. and thus peace can finally bless their lands, and their people." The Chancellor explained calmly, the small camera droids filming his face, as they floated around him.

"Now I know what you all are thinking; what comes of the Confederacy? I'm happy to announce to you, that the Republic has secured an essential alliance, that will help us put a shift end to the Clone Wars, with the complete defeat of the Separatist traitors..." Palpatine then said, which made all of the Jedi Masters attending raise their eyebrows. After a moment, the Supreme Chancellor sat down, and a large hologram of a chiss appeared in the middle of the chamber.

"Citizens of the Republic.. I am Syndic _Cren'resh'entalis_.. the leading officer of the Chiss Ascendancy's naval forces. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has asked for our help, in the fight against the Separatist Alliance." The chiss man said, placing his hands behind his back. Many people in the chamber were now glancing at each other, having not excepted this.

"The Chiss Ascendancy is proud to stand with the Republic, and bring our two governments together under a common goal; to end the Separatist and Hutt threat. Our forces are convening at the edges of Confederacy's borders, ready to strike at the heart of their operations..." The Syndic said, standing straight in an official way. Master Windu frowned slightly, folding his arms, and leaning back on the seat he was sitting on.

"Rest assured; the Separatists will fall soon.. and we can all commit ourselves to destroying the corrupt Hutt Cartel, and their lawless Empire. The Chiss Ascendancy is your ally.. now and forever. Syndic Reshen, signing out..." The chiss man said, after which his hologram disappeared.

The chamber was then filled with chatter, many of the senators talking to their aides and delegates. As the chamber filled with noise, Mas Amedda struck his staff down again, silencing the people. Palpatine stood up again, taking a deep breath.

"With the help of the Ascendancy.. we will bring peace to the Galaxy. Now.. there is another matter, that we should discuss..." The Chancellor began, holding a few seconds of silence, before talking again.

"For thousands upon thousands of years, our allies in the Jedi Order, have defended the Republic with their lives.. working tirelessly to maintain peace, order, security and liberty in the Galaxy. They have bled, sacrificed, and given everything, in order to keep us safe..." Palpatine explained, which was met with a short round of applause. The Jedi attending the hearing glanced at each other, being curious about what the Chancellor had in mind, even though had an idea of it already.

"The Jedi took up arms with the clone armies... assuming command of them, and again giving their lives, in order to fight for the Republic, and keep its citizens safe, and free. They have fought against the Separatists for over three years... and I believe, that they have earned their right, to rest, and retire from all the fighting..." Palpatine explained further, which made the Jedi raise their eyebrows. That caused some more chatter in the chamber, but nothing too loud, as the Chancellor was able to continue.

"As of this moment, I am re-establishing the _Moff Directory_. The Grand Army of the Republic's leadership will gradually move onto non-Jedi officers, who will be supervised by provincial and sector based governors; Moffs.." The elder human man announced, which caused louder chatter. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows, and glanced at his Jedi colleagues, who all had the same look on their faces.

 _Moffs_ were an ancient rank, given to governors of sectors, star systems, and other provinces within the Republic. The rank of Moff originated from the several pre-Republic governments, that ruled over star systems and sectors all around the _Core Worlds_ , the _Colonies Region,_ and the _Inner Rim_. The rank was however put in actual meaningful use by Sith Emperor Vitiate's regime, where the rank of a Moff was one of the highest ranks, military officer could achieve.

During the thousand years of conflict between the Republic and the Sith, the _New Sith Wars_ , the Republic implemented the Moff Directory for the first time. The Moffs acted as governors of different star sectors, and helped oversee the massive war effort, that the Jedi led against the Sith onslaughts.

After the _Ruusan Reformations_ , the Republic abandoned the Moff Doctrine, along with its massive standing army, and became largely demilitarized. Chancellor Palpatine seemed to think, that re-establishing the Doctrine, and issuing Moffs to control the different sectors, that the Republic controlled, was a way to help the Jedi relinquish their command of the clone armies. The Moffs would supervise the admirals and generals, that would assume command of the massive fleets and armies.

"Reforming the command structure this way will take time.. months at least, which is why I will welcome my Jedi allies, to continue serving as the Republic army's generals, until we can safely take on the reigns, and finish up with this destructive war ourselves... the Jedi can return to their peacekeeping duties, which I know, that they want in the end.." Palpatine announced, which caused more chatter, and some cheering.

Master Yoda hummed quietly, his hands firm on his walking stick. Master Mundi leaned back on his seat, stroking his long beard, as did Obi-Wan, who was curious about the Chancellor's plan.

"Overseeing the implementation of the Moff Doctrine, as well as the change of leadership, will be the newly appointed _Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin_." The Chancellor said, which caused the senators to chatter, and applaud. After that, the large hologram of former Republic Admiral, Wilhuff Tarkin appeared. The human man had his hands behind his back, standing straight.

"My names is Wilhuff Tarkin, and I am the newly appointed Grand Moff of the Republic, as well as the governing Moff of the _Eriadu_ system. I will be overseeing the transition of non-Jedi officers, taking control of the clone armies, and Republic fleets. The Supreme Chancellor has given me his trust, and I will not disappoint him, nor the Republic..." The human officer said in a strong voice. As the senators kept chattering, the Grand Moff cleared his throat.

"After the Separatist and Hutt threats have been dealt with, the Moffs will govern over the sectors they are assigned to, which will help with stabilization, and will improve communication with the Republic's leadership. I assure you, honored senators, that this will not take away individual planet governments' rights or power... it will only help them with maintaining order, and the principles of the Republic... and nothing else. Thank you..." Tarkin finished, his hologram disappearing. After a short round of applause, the Senate silenced again, allowing the Chancellor to stand up again.

"And I will honor the promise I gave you all at the start of the Clone Wars, when I received my emergency powers; after the war is over, I will step down as the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. A new Chancellor can be elected, and we can move on to rebuilding our beautiful worlds, and make the Galaxy a safe place to live in again." Palpatine announced, ending his speech by sitting down again.

The entire Senate rotunda erupted into rowdy applause and cheering. Hundreds of senators and their delegates showed their support and appreciation to the Supreme Chancellor, chanting his name. Palpatine sat in his podium, a smile appearing on his face, as the crowds cheered him on.

The four Jedi Masters in one of the repulsorpods, silently looked at each other. Mace Windu stroked his chin, before letting out a long sigh.

"It seems that the Chancellor was serious, when he talked about us having given enough to the Republic." The dark skinned human Jedi noted. Master Yoda hummed quietly, nodding his head.

"Interesting choices, the Chancellor has made. Will be fascinating to see, what comes of this all.." The small sized old Jedi Master said. Obi-Wan bit his lip slightly, leaning forward on his seat.

"I have to admit, that this is too convenient, masters. I feel like the Chancellor is trying to oust us.. and isolate us. We could be weak then..." The bearded Jedi Master said, to which his colleagues nodded their heads in agreement.

"I think that we'd be stronger, if we're tightly together, Obi-Wan. If we'd be scattered across the Galaxy by ourselves... we'd be easier to kill, one by one. But then again... if someone were to attack the Jedi Temple... we'd need to be ready for it." Master Windu said, folding his arms. Ki-Adi Mundi hummed quietly, quickly looking around.

"I'm not sure, if we should become too paranoid, Master Windu. While I agree, that the entire Senate is shrouded in darkness.. we should not get ahead of ourselves..." The elder cerean Jedi said quietly. Master Yoda let out an acknowledging hum, nodding.

"If nothing else.. go back to our homeworld, we always could. Not the first time, the Jedi have left Coruscant, and the Republic behind." The green skinned Master said, which made Obi-Wan raise his eyebrows.

"Go back to Tython? The Jedi Temple there has been abandoned for nearly two thousand years... we'd have to rebuilt everything there." He argued, which made Master Windu shrug his shoulders.

"Maybe so.. but we've done it before... we can do it again, if need be." The experienced Jedi Master replied.

 _Tython_ was the ancient homeworld of the Jedi Order; the birthplace of their belief system, and traditions. Nearly 36 500 years ago, the ancestor of the Jedi Order, the _Je'daii Order_ , was founded. The members of this ancient monastic order believed that the Force was separated into two deities; _Ashla_ and _Bogan_ , named after Tython's two moons. Around 25 700 years ago, a bloody war was waged between the Je'daii followers of Ashla and Bogan, called the _Force Wars_.

After the defeat of the Bogan followers, the victorious Ashla monks founded the Jedi Order; reforming their belief system, by naming Ashla the "Light Side of the Force", and Bogan the "Dark Side". For the hundreds of years, the newly founded Jedi studied and meditated on Tython, slowly becoming the organization, that they were today.

Around 3600 years ago, after the destruction of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, by the forces of Lord Vitiate's Sith Empire, the Jedi returned to Tython, after thousands of years, and reclaimed their lost homeworld. For around a hundred years, they stayed on the planet, living in the isolation, that they had done for thousands of years prior.

Eventually, the Jedi had returned to Coruscant, and rebuilt their Temple, that still stood strong today. They had once again left their birthplace behind, leaving it abandoned, and uninhabited. The homes and temples they had built there had most likely deteriorated away centuries ago already, which would make another Jedi exodus complicated. If they ever were to return to Tython, they'd first need to rebuilt everything there. But, like Master Windu noted; the Jedi had done it before, and they could do it again.

Obi-Wan nodded quietly, turning his gaze towards the podium at the middle of the rotunda. As he saw the Chancellor starting to leave, his eyes noticed the _umbaran_ aide of Palpatine, _Sly Moore_ , staring at him, and his Jedi colleagues. The white eyes and the pale skin of the silent aide sent shivers down the human man's spine.

"I have a bothersome feeling, that the Senate is being controlled by a Sith, Master..." Obi-Wan said quietly to Master Windu, who frowned.

"Like Count Dooku said? I have to admit, that Chancellor Palpatine is surrounded by... something... but I can't say for sure what.." The Jedi Master answered, leaning back on his seat again.

"A powerful Sith could be behind our inability to sense the Chancellor's true allegiances..." Master Mundi suggested, his arms folded. Master Yoda nodded, agreeing.

"This 'Darth Sidious', behind the Clone Wars could be. Chancellor Palpatine, his puppet may be also..." The small sized Jedi stated, leaning on his walking stick. Master Windu sighed, biting his lip.

"We should be more careful, when it comes to the Chancellor and the Senate. I sense that there's a conspiracy, to destroy our Order. We need to be ready... and not trust the Senate." The dark skinned human man said with a stern face. Obi-Wan hummed quietly as a response.

"I agree that we should not trust Palpatine... but the entire Senate? There are senators, who are on our side, Master.." He said, to which his colleague shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess.. but we have to be careful, no matter who is on our side. If the Jedi Order were to fall... it'd mean dark times for the rest of the Galaxy.." Mace said, shaking his head slightly, hating to even think about such a possibility.

"Prepared for anything, we must be... but for now, move forward normally we should." Master Yoda suggested, to which his Jedi Master colleagues nodded in agreement.

The four of them then stood up, Master Yoda boarding his small repulsorlift seat. They left the repulsorpod then, walking out of the massive Senate rotunda, as the rest of the senators started to make their leave as well. The Jedi then entered the large hallways, which led to the Convocation Chamber, as well as allowed them to make their way towards the Senate Building's exits.

 **...**

The sandy streets of Mos Espa were filled with commuting people, who walked around the dozens of street vendors and shops, that were located in the large town's commercial sector. The town of Mos Espa was not one of Tatooine's biggest trading settlements, but was the most important city on the planet, when it came to _podracing_. The _Mos Espa Grand Arena_ , was the site for the annual _Boonta Eve Classic_ podracing event, which always drew more than a hundred thousand attendees, from all over the Galaxy.

The young togruta girl, Ahsoka Tano, walked along one of the many streets of Mos Espa, her former Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker, walking close next to her. The two of them had went around the town, procuring the groceries that they needed, which included food, drinks, and other goods. The togruta girl turned her head towards her human companion, and a smile appeared on her face.

"How are you feeling? The wounds are healing, right? I know you might still feel a little weak.." Ahsoka said, as she kept walking forward slowly. Her human companion chuckled slightly, stretching his arms.

"It's all right, Snips... I'm feeling a lot better already. Thanks to you, no less." Anakin replied with a smile. Ahsoka let out a quiet laugh, nodding.

"You're welcome, Ani. But I just did what I had to.." She answered quietly. The human man chuckled again, smiling as he looked at the togruta girl.

"I always love, when you call me that.." Anakin said, which made his former apprentice bit her lip, and feel slight heat on her cheeks.

"I also love.. when you call me 'Soka'... even though you rarely call me that." She answered, looking down slightly, blush appearing on her face. Her former Jedi Master bit his lip, and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, yeah.. I guess it became a habit of me, calling you 'Snips'. I'll try to call you 'Soka' more.. if you want me to..." He answered, which made Ahsoka chuckle.

"Only if you want to, Anakin. I like this, by the way... I like being with you, and going around just doing normal things... having a little bit of normal life.." She said quieter, gently fiddling with one of her lekku. That made Anakin's eyes widen slightly, before he let out a quiet chuckle.

"Would you like to live a normal life.. with me?" He asked, a bit cautiously. Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately began to fiddle with her hands.

"Well... uh... I suppose I would.. but we both know, that you have your commitments to the Jedi.." The girl answered quietly. Anakin felt slight ache in his heart, as he sighed, and nodded.

"Yeah... you're right.." He answered in a quiet voice.

As silence fell between the two, they came across a small building in the trading sector, which made Anakin raise his eyebrows. The human Jedi looked at the entrance to the building, and hummed quietly.

"Huh.. guess he's still in business..." He said quietly. Ahsoka raised her brows, looking between him, and the building.

"What?" She asked curiously. Anakin bit his lip slightly, rubbing his hands together.

"I used to work at this shop, Snips. Spent much of my childhood here..." He answered, which made his former Padawan frown slightly.

"Really? Wait... you lived here, in Mos Espa?" Ahsoka asked in a slightly shocked voice, having had no idea about it. Her former Jedi Master simply nodded in response.

"Yeah... I lived at a nearby slave quarters section with my mother. That was more than a decade ago... huh.. how time flies..." The human man said quietly. Ahsoka's eyes widened, and her mouth opened. She gasped slightly, stopping at her heels.

"Oh goodness... Anakin.. I... I'm so sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have brought you here..." She said quickly, looking at the human man, who raised his eyebrows slightly. Anakin then smiled warmly, and placed his hand on her shoulder, making her look him in his eyes.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Ahsoka... I'm good. I do want to pay my old employer... or, well.. my slave master a visit, though.. so... shall we?" He asked with a slight smile. Ahsoka cautiously nodded her head, staying quiet.

The two of them then made their way into the small shop, walking in through the front entrance. As soon as they entered, Anakin could feel a sense of nostalgia, walking down the small step of stairs, further into the shop. He looked around, seeing the dozens of small parts, and other junky items, that were put up for sale.

Anakin's gaze turned to the shop's counter, where he could see the aged _toydarian_ junk dealer, his former master, quietly go through some papers in his hands, his small wings flapping and keeping him in the air. The human Jedi walked to the counter, placing his hand on it.

"Achuta, Watto.." He greeted in _Huttese_ , the language spoken primarily in the Outer Rim, and especially inside Hutt Space. The toydarian shop owner didn't turn his head yet, instead placed the papers down on a desk.

"H'chu apenkee.." The toydarian, named _Watto_ , replied. He now turned around, facing Anakin and Ahsoka.

"Hi chuba da naga-" He said, before his eyes suddenly widened, as he stared at the human Jedi in front of him. Even though Ahsoka had lived on Tatooine for a few months, she had never taken the time to learn Huttese, and so, had no idea, what was being said. Anakin smirked slightly, looking at his former owner.

"You look you've seen a ghost, Watto.." The Jedi said with a smirk. Watto stared at his former slave, the look of sheer disbelief on his face.

"Little Ani...? Kee chai chai cun kuta?" The toydarian asked in a shocked voice, looking around the shop. The human Jedi Knight shrugged his shoulders.

"Just came by to say hi to my former owner. How's business?" Anakin asked. Watto looked around for a moment, before quickly flying closer to his former slave.

"You have a death wish, boy!? You must know, what the Hutts will do to any Jedi they catch!" The toydarian man asked in a hasty way, looking around paranoid. The Jedi simply smirked, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Guess I'll have to avoid getting caught then, Watto." He answered simply. The shop owner grunted in slight frustration, flying back slightly.

"Well, you're putting me at risk as well... so tell me, what you want already.." Watto then said, his voice grumpy, like always. Ahsoka looked at her former master, who then sighed slightly.

"Well.. I actually need your help. I need to get off this planet, but you and I know, that it'll be hard... so.. your help would be appreciated, Watto.." Anakin said, folding his arms. Watto frowned, staring at his old slave.

"What? I'm not gonna risk my neck by helping you, Anakin! Besides.. you wouldn't be able to pay me with anything either... and I will not help you, without getting something for it myself." The toydarian answered, showing his good old selfish personality, something that his former slave had gotten more than used to.

"Always thinking with your wallet, aren't you?" Anakin asked, leaning on the counter now. Watto was quiet for a moment, stroking his chin.

"Well.. you don't have to pay me, if you'd be willing to take care of some dirty deadbeats, who owe me a lot of money. I'm barely making a living nowadays, I don't even have slaves anymore, let alone any shop assistants!" The aged shop owner complained. Anakin hummed quietly, biting his lip.

"I'm not gonna be your hit man, Watto.. that's for sure..." He said quietly. The young human man then looked around, while trying to come up with a way of paying his old slave master to help him. He noticed a poster on the shop's wall, which advertized the Boonta Eve Classic event.

"Boonta Eve's gonna take place soon, right?" He asked the toydarian, who quickly glanced at the poster as well.

"What? Oh.. right, yeah. I had a guy working for me, who was going to participate in the race.. but the idiot was killed three days ago in a bar fight. So now I've got a pod, and no one to ride it... so I'll lose even more money.." Watto said in a grumpy voice, shaking his head in frustration. Anakin took a closer look at the poster, seeing a familiar _dug_ on it.

"Is _Sebulba_ going to race in it? His face is on that poster.." The young human said, to which his former slave master scoffed quietly.

"Yeah... both Sebulba and _Hekula_ will race. Sebulba came out of retirement, to participate in this year's Boonta Eve; one last ride, I think he said..." Watto answered, looking at the human Jedi in front of him.

Over a decade ago, Anakin had raced in the Boonta Eve, to win his freedom from Watto, among other things. Even before that, the dug podracer Sebulba, had been his biggest rival, having raced against him on a few occasions prior.

Hekula was Sebulba's son, who had taken on his father's fame as a podracer, having become the most skilled, and successful racer, after Sebulba's retirement. Anakin had raced against Hekula as well, several years ago, when he was still a Padawan learner, travelling with his Master Obi-Wan.

That made the young human Jedi think of an idea, which made him chuckle, and smile.

"Say.. is that podracer of yours good? I could race in the Boonta Eve for you, and win it, just like last time. You'd get money for it, and could help me get off Tatooine..." Anakin suggested, which made the toydarian raise his brows.

"What, you'd ride my podracer? And what if you wouldn't win? Or, even more importantly.. what if your identity is discovered? You can't race as Anakin Skywalker; everyone would know, that you're a Jedi!" Watto answered, his expression telling, that he wasn't keen on the idea at all. Anakin smirked in response, folding his arms.

"So.. disguise me then, Watto. I know you have the means to do it." He said in an arrogant tone, which made his former owner groan in annoyance.

"You'd need to disguise your looks as well; Sebulba and Hekula might recognize you, even if you have a different name..." The shopkeeper answered, his wings flapping in the air, making a leathery sound. Ahsoka didn't really like the plan either, but her former master seemed to have made up his mind.

"I can do that, no problem. Get me into that race, Watto.. and I promise you, we'll both win big time..." The human Jedi assured, to which his toydarian acquaintance groaned again.

"How do you know that, Anakin? Sebulba has a brand new, cutting-edge podracer, and Hekula still flies your old racer.. albeit with tons of new upgrades..." Watto answered, which didn't seem to bother Anakin at all.

"I have this thing called the Force on my side, Watto... trust me.. I will not lose, as long as I can keep those dugs from sabotaging the race.." He said in a confident way. Watto was silent for a few long moments, pondering on the suggestion. After a while, he sighed, and nodded.

"Okay, fine... if you're so certain. I need the money.. bad. But just so you know, Ani.. I will put everything on the line with this..." The toydarian said in a warning way, pointing his finger the human man, who smirked, and nodded.

"Noted. But I assure you, that I will not fail. Get me into that race, and I'll take care of the rest." Anakin said, which made the toydarian grunt, and nod.

"Yeah... fine. The race will be held in two days... you'd better be ready by then. Oh, and since you'll be entering so late.. you'll get a bad starting position.." Watto said, as Anakin smirked, and took a few steps back, intending to leave now.

"I know the drill, don't worry. Let me know, when I can come check on the podracer... but until then, I'll let you take care of all the paperwork.." He said, with an all too confident smile. Watto groaned in frustration, waving his hand dismissively.

"Yeah.. yeah... just get out of here, before you get us both killed..." The toydarian said, returning to his chores.

Anakin chuckled slightly, and turned around, heading out of Watto's shop. As they walked up the small set of stairs, Ahsoka grabbed the human man's arm. Anakin turned his attention to her, seeing a worried look on her face.

"Ani... are you sure about this? Podracing is dangerous, and what if you are discovered?" She asked, feeling real worry for her former master, who simply smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Please, Ahsoka.. I'm a professional. I was flying ships, and riding podracers, even before you learned to lift a box up with the Force. Trust me.. I'm more than capable of participating in the race. And I'll be careful not to get caught.. pinky swear." Anakin said with a smirk, holding his pinky up. Ahsoka's expression didn't changed, and she instead placed her hand on his.

"I'm serious, Anakin... I don't want you to be hurt, or discovered.." She said, her expression slightly sad as well. The young human man smiled, and touched the togruta's cheek gently.

"Don't worry, sweetheart... it'll all work out. And after that.. I'll get off this planet, and you can return to your normal life..." He said quietly. Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't thought about Anakin leaving, and it began to ache her heart suddenly.

"Yeah... just like I wanted, huh..?" She answered very quietly. Anakin smiled, and moved his face closer to hers.

"Doesn't mean we can't spend the time we still have together the best way possible.." He whispered, his mouth moving closer to the togruta girl's. Ahsoka opened her mouth slightly, letting out a quiet breath.

"Ani..." She whispered back, closing her eyes, as she moved her lips to touch with Anakin's. Before they could press each other's lips against one another, a loud banging noise startled them. They turned to look at the direction of the counter, where Watto was banging his hand on the desk.

"Hey! No smooching in my shop! Go get a room with your girlfriend, or something! I'll call up on you, when I need to go over the things with you, Anakin.. but for now, just get out of my shop!" The toydarian ordered in a loud, annoyed voice.

Anakin and Ahsoka parted from each other, and walked their way out of the shop, but not before the human Jedi rolled his eyes slightly. The two of them stepped out to the marketplace again, and began to make their way back to the outskirts of the town, from where they could get back to Ahsoka's home.

Now the young human man had a plan to get off Tatooine; what remained to be seen, was if it'd work in his favor, and not blow up in his face. The worst that could happen, was the Hutts actually discovering them, and proceeding to do who knows what, which would however in all likelihood, be unpleasant.

 **...**

The various sized rocks in an asteroid belt, near the _Hapes Cluster_ , calmly floated around in the vast vacuum of space. The wreckage of a Republic _Arquitens-class_ light cruiser, floated around in the middle of the asteroid field, many of its parts having flown off of it, when the ship was destroyed. Some of the ship's crew had flown out of the cruiser as well, their dead bodies now floating in space, frozen.

The sudden loud noise of a ship coming out of hyperspace filled the area, after which a Venator-class star destroyer jumped into the system. The large capital ship slowly began to move forward, its engines running on low power.

On the star destroyer's command bridge, a human captain of the Republic Navy, Devon Shellen, walked towards the windows of the bridge, moving across the narrow walkway, between the recessed crewman pits, where a dozen officers worked on their computer consoles.

The 36 year old captain placed his hands behind his back, looking at the wreckage of the destroyed Republic ship through the bridge's windows.

"Send a team to recover that cruiser's black box... we need to know what happened to it.." Captain Shellen said to his second in command, a clone officer, who stood next to him. The clone nodded silently, before signaling other clone officers standing nearby, relaying the captain's orders to them.

Almost immediately after that, seven starships suddenly jumped into the system, only a few hundred meters away from the Venator-class star destroyer. Four of the just arrived ships were of unusual design, being built of two circular disk like decks, which were joined together by a thick middle piece, which housed the ship's large engines, and the hangar bay. The three other ships were very lengthy, possessing a long neck, and having a medium sized bridge on the front, and large engines, and wing-like structures, as well as the hangar bay, in the back.

The Republic captain raised his eyebrows, recognizing the ships. They were _Hapan_ built _Battle Dragons_ , and _Nova-class_ cruisers. They belonged to the _Hapes Consortium_ ; a secluded, isolationist government, that ruled over the Hapes Cluster. The native species, near-human _hapans_ , had never been part of the Republic, or any other Galactic government, and instead, ruled themselves.

"What is the meaning of this!? I want contact with those Hapan ships immediately!" Captain Shellen ordered loudly, a deep frown on his face. As his subordinates did what he ordered, the Hapan ships suddenly moved in closer.

"Captain, their weapons have a lock on us!" A clone officer stated, which made the ship's commanding officer raise his eyebrows, as he turned back to look out of the window.

"What..? They.. they must have destroyed the cruiser... and then wait for us to arrive.." Shellen said quietly to himself, before his eyes widened.

"It's a trap! Everyone, battle stations! Raise our shields, and send out our fighters! I don't want any of those Hapan ships get closer to us!" The Captain then yelled, turning to face his crew, who answered with acknowledging nods.

As the star destroyer's crew began running around the bridge frantically, doing as ordered, the Hapan ships opened fire. The seven ships opened fire with all of their available cannons, which began pounding the Republic ship. The Venator's bridge shook, as the first cannon rounds hit the ship, and were absorbed by its shields.

"Shields are holding! 83 percent.." The officer assigned to monitoring, and controlling the ship's deflector shields, told the captain, who began to pace around the bridge.

As the Hapan ships kept firing upon the Venator-class star destroyer, the Republic ship's main hangar bays opened, allowing several ARC-170 starfighters to fly out, and attack the small Hapan fleet. Dozens of Hapan built interceptors flew out of their ships' hangars, attacking the advancing Republic fighters, and initiating several dogfights.

After a few short moments, as Captain Shellen walked around the command bridge, he could notice some of his officers, looking fearful, some of them looking anxious, and almost nauseous. The human officer raised his eyebrow, not knowing what was going on.

"We're gonna die... oh 'Maker'.. we're gonna die..." A young non-clone human ensign said quietly, shaking in his seat. Shellen patted the young officer's shoulder, trying to calm him down, but it didn't seem to do much.

"Sir! Shields are down to 30 percent... we should retreat!" The clone officer assigned to the shields said, which made his commanding officer frown.

"What!? Are you daft!? Keep the shields up, and return fire with everything we have!" Shellen shouted back, squeezing his hands into fists.

As the captain walked back to the bridge's windows, he could see more of his crew acting in a weird way. Many of them began to shiver in fear, while others started to weep and sob. Shellen frowned, as he saw one of his officer break down crying. He quickly looked out of the window again, and could see, that only a fraction of the Venator's cannons and turbolasers were firing at the Hapans.

"Why aren't we returning fire!? Give me a sitrep, now!" The Captain ordered in an angry voice, turning back around to see his crew disorganized, and in panic.

"Sir! We cannot win this battle! We must retreat!" The clone lieutenant, and Shellen's second in command said in a desperate voice. The human captain frowned deeply, shaking his head.

"No retreat! Just return fire! We can do this.." Shellen said, at that exact moment, suddenly feeling unsure about the situation, which was uncommon for the confident captain.

Shellen walked back towards the windows, just as a sudden violent tremor shook the ship, which made him stagger. An ARC-170 fighter flew near the bridge, a Hapan fighter closely behind it, which managed to shoot the ship's engine. As the Republic fighter rolled out of control, a piece of its wing hit the star destroyer bridge's window, cracking it.

Sweat began to roll down the human captain's neck and forehead, as his heart pounded faster in his chest. Random images and sounds of despair and sorrow had started to suddenly fill his head, distracting him. A sudden explosion on the bridge then got him to his senses again, after it made him stagger around.

"Shields are gone, sir! Hull breaches on decks 7 and 15!" A clone officer informed him, frantically pressing buttons on his computer console.

Captain Shellen scratched the back of his neck, feeling sweat roll down it. He could see more of the bridge crew begin to scream uncontrollably in panic, as well as run around. The human officer could feel his ship begin to fall apart, as the Hapans kept firing at it. Shellen began to breathe heavier, fear starting to get to him as well.

A large explosion suddenly engulfed much of the command bridge in flames, killing several crewmembers instantly, while throwing others in the air. The shockwave threw Shellen in the air as well, after which he fell hard on the floor, groaning in pain as he landed.

The human captain quickly got up, breathing heavier, as he could see some of his crewmembers lying dead on the floor. The entire bridge was now in complete disarray and panic, no one knowing what to do.

"We'll die... we're all going to die.. oh no..." Shellen said quietly to himself, breathing heavily as he stood up. He looked around the burning bridge, biting his lip. His men were already running around and panicking.

"Abandon ship! Abandon the ship!" The Captain then yelled loudly, starting to run towards the other end of the bridge, where the escape pods were located at.

As Shellen and many of the crew began running towards the escape pods, another violent tremor shook the ship, staggering them all. A second later, another large explosion engulfed the bridge, throwing Shellen back violently, the fire burning his face and hair.

The human captain hit his back on the bridge's windows, before falling on the cold floor, landing on his back again. Shellen coughed violently, as the blast had punched all air out of his lungs. He then tried to move, but found himself to be unable. He looked down on his body, seeing a large metallic piece of debris having pierced his stomach, and hit his spine; rendering him paralyzed.

He then coughed up blood, lying his head back down. His mind was filled with bad memories from his childhood, his greatest fears, and other things, just as traumatizing. Shellen had no idea, what had caused it, but it had rendered his entire crew unable to fight.

Blood came out of his nose and mouth, as he coughed again. The human captain began to lose his consciousness, his vision becoming blurry. He was dying at a fast pace, the debris having done more damage, than he had anticipated.

"Mother... don't.. turn off the lights..." The Captain whispered, closing his eyes, dying on the cold floor.

As the ship's commanding officer died, the rest of the bridge fell apart, dozens of explosions destroying it. In the following moments, the entirety of the Venator star destroyer fell apart, epxlosions engufling it in flames, and taking it down with them. After a short moment, the Hapan warships hit the Republic capital ship's main reactor, which caused a catastrophic explosion, that ripped the entire ship apart.

After the star destroyer's wreckage's pieces flew around in space, hitting the asteroids near them, the Hapan fighters made quick work of the Republic's ARC-170s. Not more than a minute later, the entire Republic task force had been wiped out; the Hapans having only lost a few fighters during the fight.

 **...**

The white corridors aboard a Hapan Battle Dragon were brightly lit, giving the ship an elegant, and rather beautiful look. A middle aged hapan man, wearing a grayish colored military officer's uniform, walked along the hallways, and approached the door to a well guarded room, which was placed near the ship's bridge.

Hapans were otherwise identical to humans, except for the fact that most of them were much more physically attractive, than the average human, as well as possessing very poor night vision. Hapans were in all sense humans, but the thousands of years of isolation had made them evolve in ways, that made them be considered near-humans, rather than a real subspecies of the human race.

The hapan military officer walked in front of the door, waiting for the guards to step aside, and allow him to move in. The guards moved to the side, and the military officer stepped into the room. The room was small, beautifully decorated with all kinds of ornaments, and expensive furniture.

At the center of the room, a beautiful hapan woman, silently sat on a soft ottoman styled seat. The female was wearing a white, elegant dress, and her hair was styled in an elegant, traditional Hapan way, being thickly braided. The hapan officer approached the woman, who had her eyes closed, meditating on the seat. The officer knelt down in front of her, bowing his head.

"M'lady... it worked; they were completely decimated.." The man explained, kneeling down in front of his liege. The woman opened her green eyes, a warm smile appearing on her face.

"I knew it would, Admiral... give my thanks to your men, for making a quick work of the Republic forces.." She answered, standing up from the seat. She gracefully walked past the hapan admiral, who got up as well.

"Queen Mother... if I may; why are we declaring war against the Republic?" The officer asked, to which his liege let out a quiet scoff, as she looked upon him.

"We are simply protecting our borders, Terlan. The Republic navies have violated our airspace far too many times. But with them declaring war against the Hutts, I have realized, that such a power hungry, dangerous government, is only going to bring suffering to this Galaxy..." The _Queen Mother_ explained in a calm voice. The hapan admiral, Terlan Je'Kyll, nodded his head in agreement.

"The Republic will be no match for us, as long as we have you on our side, my Queen... the Consortium will die to the very end by your side.." The Admiral assured, bowing his head in sincere admiration again. The leader of the Hapes Consortium smiled, bowing her head slightly.

"We will bring peace and stability to this Galaxy, my child... nothing will ever stand in our way.." She said in a confident voice.

As the officer looked back up, he saw his liege turn around, and star making her way out of the meditation chamber. She walked slowly, her hand moving to her waist, where a lightsaber hilt was hanging from her belt.

"The citizens of Republic controlled space will submit to our rule, after we destroy their navies and armies.." She said in a quieter voice. Her subordinate placed his hands behind his back, standing straight.

"And if they don't, Queen Mother?" He asked quietly. The hapan woman turned around, looking at him, her expression changing to a determined frown.

"They will either live in the new Galaxy, that I'm creating... or they will die in their old.." She answered coldly, before turning back around, and heading out of the room, the admiral following in her suit.

She was _Ta'a Chume_ , the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium. She was born 31 years ago, as the heir of the Hapan throne, named _Kayla Ni'Korish_. Kayla's mother, the ruling Queen Mother, was rejoiced, when her daughter was born, as she had finally been blessed with an heir, having had many sons in the past.

Hapans believed, that men were unable to lead a government, let alone a kingdom, which is why only females of the ruling family could ever be considered heirs. Unlike with most monarchies, hapan Queen Mothers always were in power, even if they got married to a consort, and had children with them.

As Kayla grew up in the Hapan royal court, it became apparent, that she was Force-sensitive. Back then, the Consortium still had some ties to the Galactic Republic, and so the news about Ta'a Chume Ni'Korish's daughter being sensitive to the Force spread quickly, and caught the ears of the Jedi Order.

With Republic help, the Order was able to acquire Kayla from the royal court, and take her with them to be trained as a Jedi. Queen Mother Ni'Korish was outraged afterwards, and cut all ties with both the Jedi, and the Republic. Ni'Korish also developed a deep hatred for the Jedi, disallowing any of their kind to ever enter the Hapes Cluster, with the threat of capturing them, and executing them immediately.

While Kayla was being trained as a Jedi, it was discovered, that she possessed the extremely rare ability of _Battle Meditation_. Using this devastating Force power, would boost the user's allies' ability to fight, uplift their morale, and make them more effective in general. Opposite of that, the power also affected the user's enemies; reducing their morale, filling their heads with doubt and despair, and make them generally ineffective in battle.

Around seven years ago, Kayla, now a 24 year old Jedi Knight, had heard, that her mother was dying. The Queen Mother had requested her to travel to _Hapes_ , where she would give her daughter her goodbyes. The Jedi Council allowed their pupil to leave for her dying mother, but would soon become to regret that decision.

While she was on Hapes, Kayla's mother had asked her daughter to abandon the Jedi ways, and become her designated heir again. During the weeks that her daughter was with her, Ni'Korish had been able to coach her long lost daughter, into accepting her birthright, and become the heir to the Hapan throne. The allure of absolute power seduced the young Jedi Knight into abandoning her principles, and accepting her mother's offer.

However, her mother didn't die, and instead was healed from the near fatal sickness, that she had been afflicted for years. Outraged by her mother's apparent betrayal, Kayla had given in to the Dark Side, and murdered the elder Queen Mother, her own flesh and blood.

After the assassination, Kayla had taken the Hapan throne, becoming the new Queen Mother. Assuming the title _Ta'a Chume_ as her name, Kayla cut all her ties to the Jedi, and isolated her new Consortium from the Republic completely. For years, she had ruled her kingdom in peace and seclusion, but no more.

Constant airspace violations by the Republic, as well as by the Confederacy, the rather young ruler of the Hapes Consortium had reached her limit. This attack against the Republic would only be the first in her planned "War of Liberation", which would see the entirety of the Republic, and the Separatist Alliance, bend their knee to the Queen Mother.

Even though the Hapan fleets weren't large, and their armies inexperienced, they had a powerful Force user on their side, who could use the devastating Battle Meditation. With this, Ta'a Chume hoped to make quick work of her enemies' forces; overwhelming them with the powerful Force ability, and using her fleets to strike the fatal blow against them.

As she walked to her fleet's flagship's bridge, the hapan admiral Je'Kyll caught up to her.

"What are your next orders, my Queen?" The middle aged man asked, bowing his head slightly. Ta'a Chume quietly hummed, walking to the commanding officer's seat on the Battle Dragon's bridge, which had been modified to look like her throne on Hapes.

"We need to convey a message to both the Republic, and the Confederacy. This attack was only the beginning; if they do not submit to my rule.. I will hunt them down; massacre their armies, destroy their fleets... and burn down their planets..." The red haired hapan woman said, sitting down on her throne. Admiral Je'Kyll smiled, and turned his attention to the bridge's crew, striking his foot down on the floor.

"Attention! Hear your Queen, men!" The hapan man yelled, which got the attention of everyone on the bridge. The ship's crew all turned towards their Queen, standing straight in attention. Ta'a Chume smiled, and got up from her throne. She spread her arms wide in a benevolent way.

"My children, hear me! This is a new day for the Consortium! Today, we take our first steps, into becoming the Galaxy's true, rightful rulers! Remember this day, as the day when the Republic, and all the pretender governments, fell silent in fear of our might! Today, is the day when the Republic died!" The woman said in a strong voice. Her subjects cheered loudly in response, showing support for their Queen Mother.

Ta'a Chume then grabbed her lightsaber hilt, and held it high, a yellowish-orange blade brandishing from it, as she activated it.

"To WAR!" She yelled with all her might, her lightsaber held high. The crew of the Battle Dragon cheered loudly, throwing their arms high in sheer excitement, and pride.

As the crew chanted her name, showing their support, the Queen Mother deactivated her lightsaber, and sat back down on her throne. As they returned to their duties, Admiral Je'Kyll took a quick look at the ship's sensors, turning back towards his liege.

"M'lady... there are Republic survivors in escape pods near the wreckage.. what shall we do with them?" The hapan man asked, his hands placed behind his back. Ta'a Chume leaned back on her chair, a devilish smirk appearing on her face.

"My dear Terlan... there are **no survivors**..." She answered, resting her arms on the armrests of her throne. The Admiral chuckled slightly, before turning around, and relaying the Queen Mother's orders to the ships in front of hers.

The crew continued to work as normal, the ships at the front of the Hapan fleet opening fire on the helpless Republic escape pods. The Hapes Consortium, and its Queen Mother had now gone to war, and they would not show mercy...


	6. Chapter 5: Conflict of Interest

**Chapter 5: Conflict of Interest**

 **Two years, three months earlier...**

The R2-series astromech droid R2-D2, chirped in a cheery voice, as his owner, Anakin Skywalker, was crouched down in front of him, attaching a power cord to his body. The human Jedi Knight smiled, giving his droid friend a pat on his metallic dome head.

"There you go, buddy. You'll be fresh and full of juicy power in the morning." Anakin said with a slight chuckle. R2 chirped in response, spinning his head around once, and making himself shake for a moment with his legs. That made the Jedi Knight laugh, and nod.

"Don't worry, little guy; I doubt that any Separatists will be able to sneak up on me, in my cabin, on my own ship. Just get some shut eye as well... I'll turn you back on in the morning." He said with a smile, to which his loyal droid companion answered with an acknowledging beep.

"Alright.. goodnight, R2." The Jedi Knight said, before pressing the power button on the side of R2's head. The droid's lights shut down, as the power went out on him.

After shutting down his droid, Anakin stood up, and let out a quiet sigh. He turned around, and made his way to his cabin's bathroom. He was currently aboard his flagship, the Resolute; a Venator-class star destroyer, that had served the young Jedi Knight throughout the war.

Anakin, along with his Padawan Ahsoka, and the entirety of the 501st Legion, had recently conquered the small planet _Garos IV_ , located in the Mid Rim. The Separatists had previously taken the planet, during their very first attacks against the Republic. Taking the planet had been rather easy, which made it quite apparent, that the Confederacy was not very interested in keeping it.

The young human Jedi General's fleet was now on its way back to Coruscant, where they would get much deserved rest and relaxation. The sheer amount of battles, that Anakin had fought at in the last few months, had taken a toll on his forces. However, as his clone soldiers were some of the best and most experienced in the war, the casualty numbers weren't too high.

Anakin stood at the bathroom sink, his head hanging over it, as water poured down from the faucet. The human man let the water fill up his hands, having made a "bowl" with them, after which he gently threw the water on his face. He took in a deep breath, before closing down the faucet, and grabbing a towel from the nearby wall, and wiped his face with it. He was wearing a light shirt, and some comfortable trousers, having changed from his normal Jedi combat attire.

There was a knock on his cabin's door, which got the young man's attention. Anakin put the towel back in its place, after which he walked out of the bathroom, and headed to his cabin's exit. He opened the door, and was met with his young Padawan, Ahsoka, who was standing right behind the door, holding a lightsaber hilt. A smile appeared on the human's face.

"Hey there, Snips... what've you got for me?" He asked with a well-meaning smile, as he leant on the doorway. His togruta apprentice slightly shook the lightsaber hilt in her hands, sighing.

"Sorry to bother you, master... but my shoto isn't working.." Ahsoka said in a frustrated voice, fiddling with the hilt in her hands. Her Jedi Master raised his eyebrow slightly, before standing straighter.

"Really now? Well.. come on in; let's have a look at it..." The human man said, walking further in to his cabin, his apprentice following him. Ahsoka closed the door behind her, and made her way to a small couch, that was placed in the room. She sat down next to Anakin, who took the short lightsaber hilt from her hands.

"What's the problem with it?" He asked, moving the hilt around in his hands. Ahsoka scratched the back of her head slightly, shrugging her shoulders.

"It just won't activate... I think the energizers might be loose.. or the circuits have been fried..." She said, as her master fiddled with the hilt.

"Well... let's take a look.." Anakin replied simply, before removing the outer shell of the lightsaber hilt.

After that, the human Jedi Knight took a deep breath, before using the Force to lift the hilt to air. Anakin began to disassemble the hilt using the Force, which was the traditional way to repair, and assemble lightsabers.

The small parts of the short lightsaber disassembled from the hilt, one by one, until every single part had been removed. All the small objects floated around in the air, Ahsoka looking at them. After a moment, Anakin hummed quietly, taking a small part of the lightsaber in his hands.

"Ah, here we go; the cycling field energizers really were a bit loose..." He said with a slight smile, before again using the Force to move the hilt's parts around.

The human Jedi Knight then assembled the lightsaber back to working condition, putting extra care into assembling the energizers tightly into the hilt. After that, Anakin moved the hilt's outer shell, and attached it to the inner parts, completing the lightsaber. The hilt stopped floating in the air, falling on the Jedi Knight's hand. The man chuckled, and handed it over to his apprentice.

"There... all good now." He said with a smile. Ahsoka activated the short lightsaber, its yellowish-green blade coming out. The togruta girl looked at the blade, hearing its crackling sound.

"Thanks, Skyguy... you're the best.." She said, a smile forming on her face, as she deactivated the lightsaber, and put it back on her belt.

Ahsoka had only recently constructed her short lightsaber, in an effort to start using the _Jar'Kai_ dual-wielding fighting style of the _Form VI: Niman_ lightsaber form. Anakin had discouraged her from adopting the said style, as it would only give her more to train for, but his Padawan was persistent in her wish of learning to fight with two lightsabers.

Since then, Anakin had been training his apprentice in the ways of Jar'Kai, as he had slight knowledge of it. However, the young human man did not believe, that his skills in both Niman, and Jar'Kai were good enough, for him to properly train Ahsoka.

He had been trained in _Form I: Shii-Cho_ since his admittance to the Jedi Order, but had trained in _Form V: Djem So_ largely on his own, which was also the form of lightsaber discipline, that he used the most. Ahsoka had also been trained in Form V all her life, but she had adapted the highly uncommon _Shien_ discipline, which most notably could be utilized using the lightsaber in a "reverse grip" style.

Shien was uncommon among the Jedi of the modern Galaxy, as Form III: Soresu had gradually replaced the ancient style of defensive lightsaber combat, becoming the new norm for Jedi, that wished to train in the art of passive, yet effective form of lightsaber usage.

The "reverse grip" style of Shien was even more uncommon, as it had originally been a Sith creation. Having the lightsaber being held backwards, effectively combined the defensive attributes of the traditional Shien, as well as added a highly aggressive form of attack, which was especially frowned upon by the Jedi.

Still, Ahsoka had grown to like that certain style, no matter the Order's stance on it. Anakin had attempted to get her to use Djem So, in the first months of her training under him, but his advices had fallen onto deaf ears. In time, he had gotten used to his apprentice's unique fighting tendencies, and the two of them had become extremely effective, combining their own fighting styles, which only deepened their bond.

Anakin leaned back on the comfy couch, gazing at his young Padawan, who was smiling at him.

"No problem.. it's why I'm here, Snips. You want to talk about something else... or can I get some rest?" He asked with a smile. Ahsoka's eyes widened slightly, and she quickly got up, fiddling with her hands.

"Oh.. of course! Sorry for taking your time, master... I'll be on my way." She said quickly, turning around, and taking a few steps forward. Her Jedi Master let out a quiet laugh, getting up from the couch as well, and catching up to her.

"Don't be silly, Ahsoka.. you didn't waste my time. It's just late.. and I'd like to get some sleep." He said with a warm smile. Ahsoka turned around, looking at him, while still fiddling with her hands. She was positioned only a few inches away from the edge of Anakin's bed.

"I understand.. I just hope I didn't bother you; I know I could have come to you with this in the morning." She said, a slight smile on her face. Anakin smiled wider, as he absolutely loved the way his Padawan smiled. It was truly adorable.

"No worries, Snips; your master will always be ready to help. Though... speaking of which; I'll have to ask for Master Reus to help you in practicing your Jar'Kai.." He said, which made his apprentice raise her brows.

"Why? Can't you teach me..?" Ahsoka asked, folding her arms.

Jedi Master _Keelyvine Reus_ , was one of the leading Jedi teachers in the usage of Form VI, as well as the Jar'Kai fighting style. Even though she had reached the rank of Master not too many years ago, Reus had become one of the most skilled, and respected lightsaber duelists of the entire Jedi Order, specializing in dual-wielding combat.

"Well.. you know I'm not exactly skilled in wielding two lightsabers, nor am I that skilled in Niman. So... I figure that you could some real training from an expert. Don't worry.. I'll be with you through the whole thing.." Anakin answered with a slight wink. Ahsoka hummed quietly, her arms still folded.

"I see.. and here I was thinking that you'd want to be rid of me for a few weeks.." She said, staring at her master, who chuckled.

"Never.. I couldn't even sleep, if I didn't know, that you're nearby..." The man answered with a laugh. Ahsoka wished, that Anakin would have meant that, and not be sarcastic, but there was little she could do about it.

"Okay.. well... it should be interesting, practicing with Master Reus. I'll be going now... see you in the morning, Skyguy.." The togruta girl then said, proceeding to make her way out of the cabin, as her Jedi Master looked on with a smile.

As Ahsoka attempted to move, her foot was caught between the bed, and Anakin's feet. The young togruta tripped, gasping loudly, as she went down. Anakin's eyes widened, and with the help of the Force, quickly grabbed his apprentice's arm. He wasn't fast enough in diverting his energy to his grab however, resulting in him going down with his Padawan.

Ahsoka fell on the bed, her master following, ending up lying on top of her. In a few seconds, Anakin moved slightly, his face coming only inches away from Ahsoka's. The girl began to breathe heavier, her mouth open, as the human man's face hanged over her.

"Sorry about that.. I'll get off you, Snips..." He said quietly, pushing himself up with his hands. Ahsoka didn't answer him, her icy blue eyes instead staring at him, being round as plates, while her breathing became heavier.

Out of the blue, the togruta girl suddenly moved her hands behind Anakin's head, tightly wrapping them around it. The Jedi Knight raised his eyebrow, but couldn't react otherwise, as Ahsoka suddenly pulled him down. She pressed her lips against his with slight force, locking him in to a kiss.

Anakin's eyes widened, as Ahsoka kissed him, her fingers also moving through his brown hair. After a few seconds, the young man pulled himself out of the kiss, standing up with a sheepish look on his face.

"Whoa there..." Anakin said, taking a step back, as he was more than slightly surprised. Ahsoka stared at him for a second, before her eyes widened, and she quickly jumped up from the bed, a shocked look on her face.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I.. I didn't mean to.. I shouldn't have... I.." She stuttered, fiddling with her hands.

She had just kissed Anakin, kissed her own Jedi Master. Ahsoka's heart was racing; she was terrified, seeing her master's reaction to her kissing him. She had wanted to do it for so long, but now that she had done it, Ahsoka was more than certain, that it had been a mistake.

Anakin stared at her silently, being surprised, confused, and a little shocked as well. The man scratched his cheek slightly, raising his eyebrows.

"What got you to do that, Snips..? I mean... sure the situation was good for a kiss.. but... why did you feel the need to.. kiss me...?" He asked, looking at his Padawan sheepishly, who looked like she was about to faint.

"I.. I don't know! I just.. I... I shouldn't have done it.." Ahsoka replied, fiddling with her hands. She was certain, that her master would report her, and resign her as his Padawan, and that terrified her.

"It was quite surprising, Snips... a little warning would have been nice. I might have even returned the kiss better in that case.." Anakin said with a chuckle, trying to turn the situation into a joke. His Padawan breathed heavily, looking extremely embarrassed.

"I need to go.. I'm so sorry, my master. Please.. just... forget I ever did that.." She said quickly, before making a hasty retreat to the cabin's door. Anakin followed her, humming quietly.

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?" He asked, as they got to the door. Ahsoka was avoiding his eyes, looking away.

"No, no! I just need to go.. right now. I'm sorry.. again... so sorry. Let's just pretend that this never happened.." She answered, quickly opening the door, and stepping out of the cabin.

Anakin leaned on the doorway again, as his apprentice quickly jogged along the hallway, heading for her own cabin. The human Jedi Knight hummed quietly to himself, stroking his clean shaved chin.

He pondered on what just had happened. Ahsoka kissing him was quite the surprise, but for some reason, the young man had enjoyed it. Anakin shook his head, sighing slightly. He needed to not think about such things, as they were both unprofessional, and inappropriate.

The young man then clasped his hands together, taking in a deep breath. He closed the door to his cabin, and headed back to his bed. He took off his shirt, and climbed onto his bed, lying down. Anakin then used the Force to flick the switch on his cabin's lights, shrouding the room in darkness. He thought about the kiss for a few long minutes more, finding it hard to get his mind off of it.

 **Present day...**

The hallways leading to the Grand Convocation Chamber in the Senate Building were filled with senators and their delegates, as they all were leaving the building, after the Senate hearing had been concluded.

Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, and Ki-Adi Mundi, slowly walked along the hallway, heading for the building's exit. Master Yoda sat on a repulsorlift seat, which floated next to his Jedi colleagues, moving ahead with them. The four Jedi Masters came across two senators, who had been in close relations to the Jedi Order before.

Senator _Padmé Amidala_ , representing the Naboo system, and senator _Bail Organa_ , who represented the planet of _Alderaan_ in the Republic Senate, talked to each other, as their Jedi acquaintances came across them. The senator pair turned towards the Jedi, who stopped near them, smiles on their faces.

"Master Jedi.. what a pleasure to see you all again." Senator Organa said with a wide smile, slightly bowing to the Jedi in front of him, his colleague senator Amidala, doing the same.

"We're always happy to have you attend the Senate hearings." Padmé said in a sincerely happy voice. The Jedi Masters quickly bowed to the senators in courtesy.

"An interesting hearing, this one was..." Master Yoda noted, floating around in his chair. Both Bail and Padmé glanced at each other, the senator from Alderaan sighing, and nodding.

"Yes... and I can assure you, Master Yoda, that we did not know about any of this; we're just as surprised as all of you.." The human man explained, his female colleague nodding in agreement.

"The whole business with the Chiss Ascendancy, and the Moff Directory, was not told to us senators prior to this hearing... which is extremely odd, I must say.." Padmé said quietly. Master Windu folded his arms, humming quietly.

"Do you have any idea about what the Chancellor may be planning? Taking the Jedi out of the war is a bold move.. not to mention re-establishing the Moff system.." The dark skinned Jedi Master said, his arms folded. Padmé shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I have no idea, Master Windu... Bail and I will have to consult the Chancellor on this, as well as our other senator colleagues. We have to make some sense out of this.. or else we'll continue to have more questions, than we have answers..." The senator from Naboo said, stroking her chin. Bail Organa nodded in agreement.

"If nothing else, this will at least give the Jedi a chance to rest, and gather your strength again. Force only knows how many of you have died during this war..." He noted. Obi-Wan glanced at his colleagues quickly, before opening his mouth.

"Perhaps us Jedi need to return to our roots, and become the peacekeepers that we always were meant to be. If the war ends, and Chancellor Palpatine steps down, everyone can have peace and happiness.. and we can return to our duties, or even return to our homeworld of Tython. But if Palpatine will not resign after the war... we may have another problem on our hands..." The bearded human Jedi Master said quietly, his Jedi colleagues nodding in agreement. Bail sighed long, placing his hands on his waist.

"Believe me, Master Kenobi; many of us senators have grown wary of the Chancellor. There those of us in the Senate, who believe that he's been in power for too long. Most senators allow him to continue, because the war hasn't been won yet... but after the war ends.. we **have to** get him out of power.." The senator of Alderaan said determinately. His female colleague frowned slightly, looking around quickly.

"You're not suggesting a coup, are you, Bail?" Padmé asked, looking around, hoping that no one else was hearing their conversation.

"No.. but we need to let other senators know, that Palpatine could be a threat to the freedom of the Galaxy. I fear that this alliance with the chiss will only give him more power... maybe even to the point, where he can establish an authoritarian government, at the place of the Republic..." Senator Organa answered, being visibly worried about the state of the Republic.

"If it comes down to it, the Jedi Order will always be on the side of democracy and freedom. So.. if there will be a splinter faction of the Senate, that seeks to oust Palpatine from power... you can rely on our support." Master Windu said with a slight smile. Both Bail and Padmé bowed their heads slight again.

"Thank you, Master Windu. Hopefully it will never come to that.. but it's good that we can rely on each other." Bail said with an appreciative smile. After that, the male senator noticed several other senators nearby, which made him hum.

"I need to be going. Thank you for your time, my friends." He said in a happy tone, before giving his senator colleague a quick kiss on the cheek. After Bail left, Master Windu took a deep breath, turning his attention to Obi-Wan.

"We'll head back to the Temple, Obi-Wan. Come to the Council chamber, when you're able; we will discuss our next moves there... there's still a war going on, after all.." He said, giving the human Jedi a pat on the shoulder.

"Understood, Master." Obi-Wan answered, giving him a slight nod. Master Yoda hummed slightly, floating around in his seat.

"News about General Grievous, we may have. Come to the Temple with haste, you should.." The small green skinned Jedi Master said with a smile, as he, Master Windu, and Master Mundi, then walked away from Obi-Wan, who was left alone with his long time friend, Padmé Amidala. After the Jedi had left, the Naboo senator looked at her friend.

"I heard about Anakin... have you had any word from him?" The human female asked in slight worry. Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head.

"No... but fortunately, Master Vos and Secura are on Tatooine as we speak, trying to find him. I feel worry, though; I can sense something... but I'm not sure what. I feel like Anakin is in danger.. or his mind is otherwise very preoccupied..." The experienced Jedi said quietly. Padmé hummed in response, folding her arms.

"He might have gotten captured... I hope he's alright.." She answered. Obi-Wan sighed again, nodding.

"Me too. Unfortunately.. he's too far away for me to try to contact him through the Force... so all I can do, is hope that Master Vos and Secura find him quickly.." He stated quietly, to which his senator friend nodded her head.

"I second that. If they find him, and do bring him back home... could the three of us spend some time together? We haven't had the chance to be like friends, thanks to this war..." The 27 year old human female said with a slight smile. Obi-Wan chuckled at that, nodding.

"I suppose we could. Anakin hasn't been himself for the past months... I think it would be good for him to let out some steam.." The bearded Jedi said with a smile. Padmé smiled back, humming slightly.

"I know... he hasn't talked to me as much as he used to before. It's because of his Padawan left, isn't it? He hasn't been himself after that..." She noted, to which Obi-Wan nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes... I'm certain that Ahsoka's departure made him depressed... the bond between them was too strong, for her leaving not to affect Anakin in such a negative way.." He explained, Padmé listening him closely.

"The two of them were close, weren't they?" She asked, to which her Jedi friend sighed, and nodded.

"The bond between them was stronger than with most Masters and Padawans. The fact that Anakin has always had difficulties in letting things go, only made Ahsoka's departure harder on him..." Obi-Wan answered. Padmé hummed quietly, nodding in understanding.

"It was like losing a family member to him, wasn't it? Do you think... that there was more between the two of them? I know that Jedi aren't supposed to hold such feelings for anyone.." The female senator said, to which Obi-Wan nodded, and stroked his chin.

"I suppose that affection is normal between a Master, and his apprentice... but you're right; we're not supposed to hold such feelings for anyone. If Anakin and Ahsoka had love for each other.. it's only for best, that the two of them never meet again. I don't even want to think, what it would do him, if they ever met one another again..." He replied, sighing as he stroked his beard. Padmé hummed quietly, before nodding.

"I hope everything works out for him... I'm worried about losing a good friend in him.." She said quietly, before looking down, as the comlink attached to her arm beeped. The senator sighed quickly, looking back at her Jedi friend.

"I need to go to a meeting, Obi... it was good to see you again. Please.. contact me as soon as Anakin has been found; I want to know that he's safe.." Padmé then said, taking a few steps back, as she was in a hurry. Her Jedi friend smiled, and nodded, giving her a small wave for goodbye.

"I will, Padmé. See you later.." He said with a smile, which his friend returned, before turning around, and quickly heading for the Senate building's exit.

Obi-Wan was left alone in the hallway for a moment, before he too decided to leave the building, heading for the exit. He'd then return to the Jedi Temple, to get his next objectives from the rest of the Jedi Council.

 **...**

The R2-series astromech droid R2-D2, chirped happily, his dome head spinning around. His owner, Anakin Skywalker, chuckled slightly, as he walked out of the kitchen in Ahsoka's home, where he and stayed in for two days now.

"You got the comlink working, R2?" The human Jedi Knight asked with a chuckle, leaning on the doorway to the kitchen. The astromech droid chirped in an acknowledging response, spinning his dome head again. Anakin smiled, humming quietly.

"Great; if someone from the Order comes on Tatooine to look for me, they should be able to make contact with me now.." He said, turning back around, and stepping into the kitchen again, where his former Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, was working on making some food on the kitchen counter. The togruta girl hummed quietly, chopping some vegetables with a knife.

"I wonder if they sent someone to come get you already..." She said, continuing her work. Anakin chuckled, standing next to her, in order to give his hand to help her prepare the food.

"Anxious to have me leave, are you?" The young man asked, handing his former Padawan a small onion. Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat, and she felt as her hands began to shake slightly.

"Well.. no... I'm just saying.." She answered quietly, starting to chop the onion into small pieces. Anakin bit his lip, turning his body to face the togruta girl, leaning on the counter.

"You sure you don't want to come with me? You know I'd be more than glad to take you with me..." He asked, his eyes on his former apprentice, who sighed long, putting the knife down.

"Anakin... I can't rejoin the Order. They betrayed me... you know this.. and besides... you think they'd never find out, what happened between us? You think they didn't already suspect? I mean... for crying out loud.. for a time, we weren't just a Master and a Padawan..." Ahsoka said, her voice slightly louder, as she turned to face Anakin, who raised his eyebrows.

"Well... yeah.. but, that didn't stop me from teaching you..." He replied, but his former apprentice shook her head.

"That's not my point, Anakin. You really think we can just go back to the Order, and continue like nothing happened? They betrayed my trust.. and that is something I can't forget. And besides.. they'd likely allow me to pass my trials immediately, after which I'd be a Knight, and I'd have to go my own way... separated from you.." She argued, her expression stern. Anakin bit his lip, scratching the back of his neck.

"But... we'd at least be in the Order again.. together. I just... even if we couldn't be around each other much.. it still would be enough for me..." He said back, feeling slightly powerless, as Ahsoka was being very determined.

"That's not enough for me to return, Anakin... I just can't.. not even for you..." She replied quietly. Anakin sighed, looking down. Ahsoka shared his pain, moving her hand to his cheek, which made him look into her eyes.

"You know how much I care about you... you know how much I cared for you back then. I cried for months, every time I went to sleep, because I missed you so much... but.. we both know it's for the best... for all of us.." She then said, her blue eyes locked with Anakin's. The human Jedi sighed long, closing his eyes.

"I wish it wouldn't be so, Ahsoka... I.. I feel so empty.. so incomplete.. when not being around you..." He said quietly, almost whispering. Ahsoka felt bad, but she knew it had to be done.

"I know... but after all the pain.. it must get better." She said, still looking into the human man's eyes. Anakin sighed again, opening his eyes.

"What if.. what if I didn't go back to the Jedi? What if I left the Order as well... and begin a normal life with you?" The young man asked, which made his former apprentice sigh.

"Ani.. don't be silly. The Jedi need you... you're the _Chosen One_ after all. Believe me... you staying with me would just bring you more problems.." Ahsoka replied quietly, her thumb rubbing on Anakin's cheek.

As the Jedi Knight sighed, looking down again, the togruta girl smiled slightly, moving her finger under his chin, making him look at her.

"We'll just have to spend as much time together now, as we can... but we both have to learn to move on.." Ahsoka explained quietly, which made her former master sigh, and nod.

"Yeah... you're right.." He whispered, hating to admit it. As the human man looked down, feeling depressed, the togruta girl touched his cheek again.

"Don't feel sad, Ani... we can still be together for a little while..." Ahsoka said quietly with a smile. Anakin looked up again, staring into her eyes.

"I hate Barriss; she's the reason all of this happened..." He noted, which made Ahsoka's heart beat faster, as she remember back, how her good friend had betrayed and framed her, when she had fallen to the Dark Side, nine months ago. The young togruta however bit her lip, and moved her finger on Anakin's lips.

"Shh... don't think about it, Ani..." She whispered with a slight smile. Anakin looked at her, sighing long.

"You're so beautiful, when you smile..." He said quietly, which made the togruta girl smile wider, and chuckle.

"There you go.. was that hard?" She asked with a slight smirk, moving herself closer to the young man.

Anakin looked at her again, sighing. He moved his hand on her cheek, which made her smile sweetly. The two of them pulled each other against themselves, their eyes locking with one another. Anakin pressed his forehead against Ahsoka's, after which she moved her hand behind his head, stroking through his hair.

The two of them closed their eyes, and let their faces touch, their lips moving closer to each other. Their lips touched, as they softly kissed one another. They held the kiss for a few seconds, before parting their lips. They opened their eyes, and looked at each other, a smile appearing on Anakin's face as well.

"I've missed that..." The human Jedi whispered, which made his former Padawan chuckle.

"Me too... so you'd better do it again, Skyguy.." Ahsoka whispered back, winking her eye once at Anakin, who scoffed slightly.

The two of them pressed their lips against one another again, kissing once more. Their tender moment was cut short by the few low beeps, coming from R2, who had moved in behind them. Anakin turned his gaze around, looking at the small astromech droid.

"You really had to chime in now, buddy?" He asked in slight annoyance, Ahsoka still in his arms. The droid chirped, moving around slightly, telling the two of them about a problem. The togruta girl sighed, and rubbed her forehead.

"He must've noticed the problem I have with the water pressure tank... I haven't been able to fix it myself.." She said quietly, to which R2 chirped in acknowledgment. Anakin raised his eyebrow, looking back at her.

"Does it need to be fixed now? I thought we were in the middle of something..." The Jedi Knight said, to which his former Padawan responded with a slight smirk.

"Yeah.. we were in the middle of making some food, Anakin. If you'd be a dear, could you go fix the tank with R2? I will stay here, and make us some grub.." She said with a smile, parting away from the human man, who rolled his eyes.

"Okay.. fine... I'll go take a look." He answered, before turning around, and walking past R2.

"Come on, R2... let's go fix that tank.." Anakin said in a slightly annoyed manner. His astromech droid chirped in response, making a joke out of the situation, which made his owner roll his eyes.

As the two walked out of Ahsoka's home, the young togruta smiled to herself, returning to work on the kitchen counter, preparing some food. After a few moments, she could suddenly begin to hear beeping, coming out of the living room. The togruta girl raised her brow, putting down the knife again.

As she walked to the living room, she could notice, that it was Anakin's comlink, that was beeping. When she approached it, the comlink came to life, voices coming through it.

"Anakin? Anakin, are you there? This is Master Quinlan Vos... are you reading me?" The voice of Master Vos asked, which made Ahsoka's heart skip a beat. He was on Tatooine already?

"Anakin? We're trying to trace your comlink's signal... but if you're hearing us, please come in.." The voice of Master Aayla Secure said, which only made Ahsoka's heart beat faster.

Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura had arrived on Tatooine, trying to find their lost Jedi comrade. Ahsoka's heart was pounding, and she had no idea what to do. Part of her wanted to just pick up, and let the Jedi Masters know, that Anakin was with her. But another part of her wanted to decline the call, and block the comlink's signal, so that they couldn't find her. The kiss with Anakin had made the young girl want the opposite, of what she had wanted before.

Without thinking straight, she suddenly clicked a button on the comlink, disconnecting the call. Ahsoka gasped slightly, putting her hand in front of her mouth in slight shock.

"What did I just do..?" She asked herself, not able to believe, that she had just hindered the Jedi's efforts in finding her former master.

The young togruta girl sighed long, sitting down on her couch. She bent down, her hands falling on her legs, as she shook her head in shame. She didn't want Anakin to leave, but she knew how much it had to happen, for both of their sakes. She wanted to be with him, despite that all, and it made her feel dread.

Sighing again, Ahsoka got up, and walked back to the kitchen. She had no idea, whether or not she'd tell Anakin about what had just happened, and she had no idea, what she could do, if Master Vos and Secura managed to find them.

Not wanting to think about it right now, she returned to making food for herself and Anakin. With luck, she wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of her action for a while, and could instead enjoy as much time as possible with the man she secretly was so in love with.

 **...**

The kiffar male Jedi Master, Quinlan Vos, frowned slightly, as he looked at the comlink device on his arm. The connection he and his former apprentice had been trying to get with Anakin, was abruptly cut.

"Someone cut the connection... I don't like this.." Quinlan said quietly to the twi'lek woman next to him, who frowned as well.

"If Anakin's been captured, it might explain why the connection was cut..." Jedi Master Aayla Secura said, before looking around the area they were at now. T

The two Jedi Masters had found their human colleague's crashed Eta-2 starfighter, and had searched through it, to see if there were any clues, that could point them to Anakin's direction.

"Was there anything in his fighter, that'd be useful, Aayla?" The kiffar Jedi asked his former Padawan, who sighed, and shook her head.

"No... it seems that scavengers have already pillaged it clean of any useful items, and parts..." The twi'lek woman answered, rubbing her forehead. Quinlan let out a quiet hum, and looked around as well, seeing the endless sand dunes, that filled the surface of Tatooine.

"Well.. the nearest settlements are Anchorhead, and Mos Espa. We might want to start our search at either of these towns..." The male Jedi Master said, stroking his lightly bearded chin. Aayla rubbed the back of her neck, tears of sweat rolling down her back.

"As long as we get out of this heat... even _Ryloth_ isn't this bad.." She said quietly, referring her home planet, which was also known to be harshly arid, and a rocky planet.

The two Jedi Masters then made their way to the BARC speeder, with which they had arrived to the crash site. They boarded the speeder, Quinlan taking the controls, while his twi'lek companion sat behind him. The kiffar man powered up the vehicle, and took off, flying it away from the crashed Eta-2 fighter, and towards one of Tatooine's inhabited settlements.

 **...**

Serenno, a temperate forestry planet in the Outer Rim; the home of the Jedi Master turned Sith Lord Count Dooku, was once a proud member of the Galactic Republic. It was the first planet to join the Confederacy, as Dooku, who ruled over the planet with the other Counts, declared his Separatists alliance several years ago, at the Parliament Building of Serenno's capital city.

After the Clone Wars started, Serenno however, did not become the Confederacy's capital, and instead stayed a secluded, quiet system, where the Sith Lord maintained a large manor, owned by his prestigious family. From there, Count Dooku often issued orders to his minions in the Confederacy, whenever he was not attending the "Senate" hearings they had on the Separatist capital planet, _Raxus_.

The door to the main office of the Dooku Estate opened, two dark robed individuals walking in. Count Dooku calmly stood at the end of the room, facing away from his desk, looking out the large windows. The two dark robed people approached him, stopping at the start of the small step of stairs, that led to the Count's desk.

The weequay Dark Jedi, Sora Bulq, knelt down before the Sith Lord, bowing his head as well. The mirialan Dark Jedi, Barriss Offee, did not do the same, and instead, kept standing up. Dooku silently turned around, his eyes gazing on the two Dark adepts.

"My Lord.. the mission on Yavin 4 was a success..." Bulq said in a humble voice. Dooku frowned, taking a couple of steps forward, not saying anything.

Suddenly, a hologram appeared, being emitted from the Count's desk's hologram projector. The hologram was that of a dark robed human man, who silently stood, his body hunched ever so slightly. Witnessing him made Barriss' eyes widen, and she immediately knelt down.

"Master.. I have killed Darth Maul, as you ordered..." The young mirialan woman said quietly, bowing her head. The Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, smirked slightly, humming quietly.

"I felt his death in the Force. Truly excellent work, young Barriss... however.. I heard that you lost your lightsaber, while on Yavin 4.." The aged human Sith Lord said, which made his young acolyte's eyes widen. Barriss looked to her left, staring at Sora Bulq, who sternly kept his eyes off of her. She knew, that it had been Bulq, who had informed her Sith Master about that.

"I... y-yes.. my Lord..." She said quickly, bowing her head again. She prayed, that Darth Sidious wouldn't punish her, for being defeated in combat against her rival, who had bested her on Yavin 4.

"No matter.. it was time for you to dispose of it anyway; it was your Jedi lightsaber, after all. Which leaves me with your next assignment..." The Sith Lord said, a grin appearing on his face. Barriss' heart pounded in her chest, and she swallowed quietly.

"I'm at your service... my master.." She said quietly, her breathing trembling slightly. Lord Sidious was quiet for a moment, his apprentice Count Dooku placing his hands behind his back.

"You will travel next to the ancient Sith homeworld of _Korriban_... there, you must visit the tomb of _Darth Cognus..._ where you will find her powerful Sith lightsaber..." The human Sith Master explained in his calm, but rather raspy voice. Barriss took a deep breath, as she was relieved to have avoided punishment. She bowed her head again, feeling grateful.

"At once, my master... I will retrieve Darth Cognus' lightsaber.." Barriss said in a humbled voice. Bulq scoffed quietly next to her, rolling his eyes. Darth Sidious chuckled then slightly.

"Korriban and its tombs are full of dangers and surprises... it will be a challenge to get to the lightsaber; a challenge you will likely fail. But if you succeed.. you will become my new apprentice..." The powerful Sith Lord announced, which made both Barriss and Bulq raise their eyebrows. The mirialan woman looked up, surprise clear in her face.

"I... are you..? Do you mean that..?" She asked quietly. Sidious' smile faded, and turned to frown.

"Do not question me, Barriss... I mean what I said.." The human man said in a threatening voice, which made his mirialan acolyte bit her lip, and bow again.

"O-of course! I apologize, master... I just.. I thought you wanted me to kill Asajj Ventress first..." She replied quickly, her heart pounding again. Bulq groaned very quietly, still keeping himself knelt down though. Darth Sidious hummed quietly, nodding.

"Yes... but I have realized, that she can wait. Ventress hasn't been a problem for us in a while... but don't worry; you will get to kill her..." The elder human man answered, which made his mirialan pupil nod quickly.

"Of course... my master.." Barriss answered quietly, feeling as if her hands were shaking more than before. After that, the two human Sith Lords nodded, Darth Sidious smiling.

"Good.. go now, young Barriss. Return to Coruscant, after you have retrieved the lightsaber... we will discuss our next move then. Assuming you survive on Korriban, that is..." The Sith Lord said with a chuckle, which made Barriss swallow audibly, and look down. Sidious then turned to Count Dooku, who stood a bit straighter.

"Lord Tyranus... inform General Grievous, that his orders are to move the Separatist Council to our base on _Mustafar_... they will be safe there, for the duration of the chiss invasion.." He said, to which his apprentice bowed his head slightly.

"As you say, Master..." Dooku answered, after which his Sith Master's hologram disappeared. After that, Bulq and Barriss stood up, the mirialan woman rubbing her arm.

"Well... go ahead and leave, Barriss... you have a task to get to.." The human Sith Lord said, turning around, and walking to the large window again.

Barriss bit her lip, and quickly glanced at Bulq, who stared at her with a stern face. The mirialan then turned around, and quickly left the office, leaving Bulq and Dooku alone. The weequay Dark Jedi groaned quietly, walking up the stairs, and joining his master in front of the window.

"Are you not worried about that uptight pretender? She's rising up the ranks too fast.." Bulq said, clenching his teeth together. His Sith Master's expression stayed calm, as he simply nodded.

"She's caught Darth Sidious' eye, Sora... don't worry about it." Dooku assured, which made the weequay man frown deeply.

"Master! She's being trained to kill you! Sidious will replace you with her!" Bulq said angrily, which made his human master frown slightly.

"Don't you think I know that, Sora? My master knows well, that I can see what purpose she really holds. When the time comes, she will try to kill me.. and you... which is why you'll need to be ready then.. and kill her instead..." Dooku explained, which made Bulq raise his eyebrows.

"What..? Is this all part of your plan...?" He asked, being confused. The elder human man smiled, and looked at his apprentice.

"One thing you still have to learn, is that a Sith always has a plan. When Barriss attempts to oust me.. you will eliminate her. This will prove to my master, that I am not so easily taken care of... and it will also show him, how much more powerful you are.. and how much more of a worthy apprentice you are..." He said, placing his hand on the weequay's shoulder, who hummed quietly.

"I already beat her once... I will do it again. But for now.. I pretend to be on her side?" Bulq asked, to which Dooku simply nodded, chuckling.

"It is what Sith always do; lie about our true loyalties, and intentions..." The experienced Sith Lord said, which made his apprentice grin.

"Ain't that the truth, master..." He said with a quiet chuckle, as he turned to look out of the large window.

The two stayed in the office, looking through the window to the estate's courtyard, where a sheathipede-class transport shuttle was landed at. Barriss calmly walked to the shuttle, boarding it by walking up its boarding ramp. Moments later, the ship powered on, its engines firing up.

As Dooku and Bulq looked on, the shuttle took off, lifting itself from the ground. The ship's landing gear retracted, allowing it to turn towards the sky, and power up its engines. The shuttle then flew off, towards Serenno's atmosphere.

The young mirialan Dark Jedi would now travel to the ancient homeworld of the Sith; Korriban, from where she would have to face the dangers of entering one of the ancient Sith tombs. If she'd survive that, she'd be one step closer to becoming one of the strongest Dark Side users in the Galaxy of today, and the rightful apprentice of Darth Sidious.

 **...**

The twin suns of Tatooine shined down on the desert planet, making the day as hot as usual. The young human Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, hummed quietly to himself, as he entered the large junkyard, that was maintained by his former slave master Watto.

He had arrived back to the toydarian's shop, in order to check out the podracer, that the old shopkeeper owned. Ahsoka and R2 had come with him, and were now walking behind the human man, and the toydarian, who flapped his wings, flying in the air.

"Never thought I'd come back here.." Anakin said quietly, looking around, as he continued to walk further in to the junkyard. The aged toydarian man next to him grunted in response, a datapad in his hands.

"Yeah.. well, business hasn't been like it used to be, ever since I lost the bet thirteen years ago..." Watto replied, referring to the fateful bet he had placed in the Boonta Eve event nearly fourteen years ago, where he had lost most of his wealth, and his most priced slave; Anakin.

The human Jedi Knight and the toydarian shopkeeper approached a podracer, that lied dormant in the middle of the junkyard. Anakin raised his eyebrows, chuckling slightly, as he saw the racer. It didn't look like much; the racer had a small, quite weakly covered up cockpit, and bulky, medium sized engines, and turbines.

"Wow... didn't imagine you to be able to even get a T-97Sx model racer, Watto... if I remember correctly, they're the most expensive of the cheapskate podracer models.." The human man said with a grin, while the toydarian next to him groaned quietly.

"I was lucky enough to even get this, considering how little I make these days... so be glad that you're getting a racer at all.." Watto replied in a slightly angry tone. His former slave chuckled in response, jumping on the pilot's pod, and examining it.

"No worries, Watto; I'll make this piece of junk fly..." Anakin said, whistling quietly, as he moved himself to sit on the pilot's seat, and began to explore the pod's dashboard. Watto slowly flew around the racer, his hand smacking the large engines of the vehicle.

"I fitted the racer with experimental C8rz boosters... which should make the vehicle go as fast as your previous podracer, all those years ago. However... I don't know, if you should use it, as it could possibly overload the engines, and explode..." The toydarian said, scratching his messy bearded chin.

Anakin bit his lip slightly, his hands going all over the dashboard, flicking some switches, and pressing buttons. He was like a child in a candy store. He then looked up, seeing Ahsoka and R2 standing nearby, the togruta girl folding her arms, a worried look on her face. The human Jedi Knights simply grinned, and winked his eye at her, before suddenly pressing the podracer's power button.

The podracer came to life, its powerful engines igniting, and firing flames out of the exhaust. The sudden loud noise of the engines slightly startled Ahsoka, as she gasped quietly, and took a step back, placing her hand on R2's dome head. The podracer started to float a few inches in the air, the turbines spinning faster. The human Jedi Knight smirked, as he took the racer's controls. His former slave master flew beside him, pointing at some of the controls.

"You can activate the booster with that switch! I wouldn't recommend using it, unless you really have to!" Watto explained loudly, his voice being muffled by the loud engines.

Anakin nodded in understanding, flicking the power switch off, shutting down the podracer's engines. The vehicle landed on the sandy ground again, its human pilot chuckling.

"This will do just fine, Watto.. I'll make it purr like a kitty cat. Now... tell me about my disguise.." Anakin said, leaning back on the pilot's seat. Watto sighed, handing the datapad to the human man, who read through it.

"You'll be racing under the alias of _Cade Katarn_ ; a veteran podracer from the planet _Bestine_. You'll need to wear wraps and other clothing around your face, as your cover story tells, that your face was badly burned in a podracing accident on _Mon Gazza_." The toydarian man explained, as his former slave finished reading, humming and nodding his head.

"Alright, that sounds like a good cover story.." He said with a smile, climbing out of the cockpit, and jumping down to the ground. Watto flew next to him, taking the datapad from his hands.

"Just be sure to be careful not to blow it... the last thing we want is the Hutts finding out about you, boy.." The shopkeeper said warningly, to which his former slave rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah.. don't worry about it..." Anakin said, walking over to the podracer's engines, and crouching down, starting to work on them. Ahsoka bit her lip, looking around, and feeling a bit bored.

"Ani; Artooie and I will go take a walk.. okay? I'm kinda bored..." The togruta girl said, her arms folded. Her former Jedi Master chuckled, opening one of the panels on the podracer's engine, exposing wiring and other mechanical parts.

"Sure.. I'll catch up to you, once I'm done here, Snips. Have fun.." Anakin answered, giving Ahsoka a small wave, after which he continued to work on the podracer.

The young togruta gently patted R2's dome head, which made the astromech droid beep in a happy tone. Ahsoka then turned around, and began to head out of Watto's junkyard, the small droid following her, rolling on his little wheels. As the two of them left, Watto hummed quietly, looking after them. The toydarian shopkeeper then floated next to Anakin, who was making some adjustments to the podracer.

"What's the deal with you and that togruta? I thought you were with that human woman, that you came here with a few years back..." Watto said in a raspy voice. The human Jedi scoffed quietly, looking at his former owner.

"You think I'm romantically involved with every woman you see me travel with?" Anakin asked with his eyebrows raised. The toydarian man shrugged his shoulders, scratching his beard.

"I don't know... but you certainly seem to travel with a lot of good looking women. So.. what is the deal with you two? You ditched the human for a younger togruta, eh?" Watto asked with a laugh. His former slave rolled his eyes, smirking slightly.

"Just so you know; I never even was with the human woman you're talking about.. and moreover... is it really even your business to ask me such things?" He asked the toydarian, who shrugged his shoulders again.

"Just tryin' to get a conversation going... it's been years since we last met.." Watto replied quietly, scratching the back of his head. That made the young human man chuckle.

"You've missed me, haven't you, Watto?" He asked with a grin. The toydarian groaned quietly, a stale look on his face.

"Go ahead and mock me about it, why don't ya? It was nice having you around the shop.. despite everything..." Watto said, which made his former slave scoff quietly.

"Yeah... everything was good, back when you had slaves, huh?" Anakin asked, returning his attention to the podracer. That seemed to hit a nerve on the toydarian, who scratched the back of his neck.

"Well.. yes... but I always provided for you, even if you were a slave. But... ah, never mind.. forget it..." Watto replied, waving his hand dismissively. The toydarian shopkeeper then began to fly out of the junkyard, which made his former slave sigh.

"I don't hate you, Watto... not even for owning me.. just so we're clear on that.." He said after the toydarian, who stopped, his wings flapping and keeping him in the air.

"Thanks, kid... now, do what you want with the racer.. I gotta go oversee the shop.." The shopkeeper replied, clearing his throat slightly, as he flew towards the back entrance to his shop.

Anakin then smiled slightly, crouching back down, and continued to work on the podracer. He knew, that he had brightened Watto's day with that sentence, and it made him feel better as well. Even though he held a small grudge for the toydarian for owning him and his mother, Anakin knew, that Watto wasn't a bad person.

The young Jedi Knight kept working on the podracer, trying to make adjustments to it, that would enhance its performance, as well as fix any and all problems that it might have.

 **...**

The Jedi Temple on Coruscant had been the seat of power for the Jedi for thousands of years. Ever since they settled on the massive city-world, the Temple on Coruscant had been the main base of operations for the Jedi. When the Sith Empire sacked Coruscant over 3600 years ago, and destroyed the Temple, the Jedi had left the planet, and settled back on their homeworld of Tython, building a new temple there. After the wars with the Sith had waned in time, the Jedi had again returned to Coruscant, and rebuilt their massive Temple.

At the center of the Temple, was the _Jedi Council's Tower_ , where the Jedi leadership resided, and oversaw their Order, making decisions, that affected the entire organization, and every Jedi in the Galaxy.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, sat quietly on his seat in the _Council Chamber_ , leaning back comfortably. The room was rather empty, as many of the current Jedi Councilors, where on the battlefields, all around the Galaxy. On Obi-Wan's right-hand side, Masters Mundi, Yoda and Windu, all sat on their seats.

Master Agen Kolar's seat was on Obi-Wan's left-hand side, but the zabrak Jedi Master was currently deployed in the battle theater around the Inner Rim. Master Kolar had replaced his fellow zabrak Jedi Master _Eeth Koth_ , who had served in the Council for years prior.

"As I was saying.. we have located General Grievous. A governor from the planet _Utapau_ , contacted the Senate not too long ago. The Chancellor has asked for us to lead the attack on the planet... and eliminate Grievous once and for all..." The _iktotchi_ Jedi Master _Saesee Tiin_ explained, his hands crossed. Obi-Wan stroked his bearded chin, humming.

"Do we know anything about the droid army there? Does the Confederacy have strong defenses on Utapau?" The human Jedi Master asked. His iktotchi colleague shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Unknown.. but we can expect heavy resistance; the Separatists do not have many planets left under their control anymore..." Master Tiin answered. Mace Windu nodded his head in agreement.

"We need to send a strong army there, and an experienced Jedi Master... no one else can handle this.." The near-human _korun_ Jedi Master said. Master Ki-Adi Mundi nodded in agreement, before turning his gaze to Obi-Wan.

"I concur... Master Kenobi, you should go.." The cerean elder man said with a smile. Obi-Wan quietly nodded, not having expected to get this assignment, but was happy to accept it.

"I will ready the 212th Attack Battalion, and head to Utapau as soon as I can..." He answered calmly. Master Tiin then got up from his seat, which got the attention of all the attending Council members.

"Masters... I should accompany Obi-Wan on Utapau. The Separatists might have a fleet protecting the planet... so I suggest, that my fleet and starfighter corps, will engage the droid armada, while Master Kenobi's troops invade the planet.." The iktotchi man said determinately. His fellow Council members were quiet for a moment, before they all nodded in understanding.

Saesee Tiin was a veteran starfighter pilot, and aside from Anakin, arguably the best pilot in the entire Jedi Order. The iktotchi Jedi Master had modified most of the starfighters, that he had flown during the war, adding deadlier weaponry to them, stronger shields, and more powerful engines.

"That's settled then; Obi-Wan and Master Tiin will head for Utapau. Was there anything else..?" Master Windu asked, which prompted Master Mundi to nod.

"My troops have finally made progress on _Mygeeto_ ; I will join them, and liberate the planet, if I may.." The cerean Master said humbly, to which his colleague hummed, and nodded.

"Absolutely... we've been fighting for that planet for too many months.." Master Windu replied, after which the hologram of Plo Koon, flickered slightly, as the kel dor Jedi Master leaned forward on his seat.

"What about the droid invasion of Kashyyyk? Master Luminara cannot hold them back for long.." He said, looking at his fellow councilors. Master Yoda was quiet for a moment, before humming, which got the Council's attention.

"Go there, I will... good relations, with the wookiees I have. The rest of the _41st Legion_ , I'll take with me, and aid Master Luminara, I will..." The small sized Jedi Master said, which was met with acknowledging nods.

"Good... we've reached an agreement then. I will monitor the situation on _Saleucami_ ; if Master _Allie_ can't rout the droid forces herself, I will go aid her..." Master Windu explained, leaning back on his seat.

Master _Stass Allie_ , the cousin of the late Master _Adi Gallia_ , who was killed by Darth Maul's brother _Savage Oppress_ months before, had taken her relative's place on the Jedi Council, following Gallia's death. Allie had recently taken Master Windu's _91st Recon Corps_ , and invaded the arid world of Saleucami, of which control the Republic and the Confederacy had fought for nearly the entirety of the Clone Wars.

"Understood. Good luck to us all, I wish... May the Force.. be with you." Master Yoda then said, after which the Council meeting was adjourned.

Obi-Wan got up from his seat, his fellow Council members doing the same. The human Jedi Master, as well as Master Tiin, left the Council Chamber first, their new objectives clear in their mind. The holographic images of the attending Council members, who weren't there physically, dissipated, as the rest of the councilor's also began to make their way out of the tall Council Tower.

Obi-Wan did not know, what he would face on Utapau, but he hoped deeply, that General Grievous would really be there. It was due time for the Republic, and the Jedi, to hunt down the cyborg kaleesh general, and bring him to justice, or to destroy him.

 **...**

The planet of _Tanaab_ in the Inner Rim, was one of the Republic's largest suppliers of food, as nearly 85% of the planet was covered in vast crop fields. The rest of the planet was either covered in water, or thick forests and jungles. The Confederacy had launched attacks against the planet a few times during the war, the most recent one having been done less than a week earlier.

On the surface of the planet, a sudden gust of wind blew past a young human woman, whose hair flapped in the air for a second. She had dark, slightly curled lengthy hair, with a small braid hanging on the right side of her head. She was Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam, an 18 year old young woman, serving in the Jedi Order, as well as in the Republic military as a commander, like most Padawans did.

Kriza had arrived to Tanaab with her master Agen Kolar a bit over a week ago, to repel the latest Separatist invasion of the planet. With the help of the 32nd Legion, which the two Jedi led together, were able to counter the droid army in a few days. The casualties hadn't been high on either side, as the Separatists had retreated quickly, after the battle had taken a turn against them.

After the Confederate army and fleet had fled, Kriza, her master and their clones, had stayed on the planet, to regroup, and rebuild destroyed infrastructure. The young woman was now standing in front of the small camp, that her Jedi Master had set on top of a small hill, overlooking the vast agricultural fields. Behind the camp was a large, and thick forest; one of the few forests still remaining on Tanaab.

Kriza was wearing traditional Jedi apparel, though her robes were unusually dark brown in color, something not many Jedi preferred. Her brown eyes gazed upon the beautiful scenery. She felt a hand on her shoulder suddenly, which made her jump slightly. The young woman looked to her right, and could see her zabrak master standing next to her.

"Again deeply in your thoughts, Kriza?" Agen Kolar asked with a smile, as he looked at his Padawan. Kriza bit her lip, and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh.. no.. just looking at the scenery, master." She answered with a quiet laugh, which made her zabrak master hum quietly.

"I'm glad we were able to preserve most of the farms on this planet. The innocent farmers and other workers don't deserve to be in the middle of a battlefield..." Master Kolar said, looking at the vast fields as well. His Padawan silently nodded, agreeing.

"Of course, my master.." Kriza answered, bowing her head ever so slightly.

Agen Kolar was one of the best examples of a Jedi in the Galaxy. The zabrak man had always held his Jedi principles higher than anything, and his calm and forgiving demeanor, was something that all Jedi aspired to be, but only a few succeeded in reaching it.

Kriza had been his Padawan for nearly three years, and the two of them had fought in the Clone Wars extensively, though much of their war experience was reconnaissance, or infiltration styled missions. Kriza had learned many things from her zabrak Jedi Master, most importantly humbleness, and diligence.

Before meeting Master Kolar, Kriza had been a hotheaded, highly active young girl. But with patience, and good training, she had become a calm, attentive, and compassionate Jedi, whose future within the Order looked very good. Kriza's training had gone so well, that her master had already applied her to face the _Trials of Knighthood_ , after which the Jedi Council would make her a Jedi Knight. Master Kolar's seat in the Council was likely one of the reasons, why the zabrak had gotten his Padawan to apply for the trials sooner than most other Jedi, but the young human woman didn't mind that.

During the First Battle of Geonosis, Agen Kolar had lost his first Padawan; _Tan Yuster_. Kolar had been devastated about his apprentice's death for many months, but his faithful devotion to the Jedi Order, and its principles, had helped him get over his pupil's passing, and take on a new apprentice; Kriza Willsaam.

Ever since then, the zabrak Jedi Master had been stronger, and even more devoted, than before. Being around Kriza had sparked a completely new light in Kolar's life, and he showed it to his Padawan by training her in the best ways possible, for which the young human woman was forever thankful to him.

"You're thinking about the Trials, are you not?" Master Kolar then asked, a warm smile on his face. Kriza bit her lip again, rubbing her arm, and nodding.

"Yes.. master... " She answered quietly. Her master smiled, and gently squeezed her shoulder.

"You will do great, my Padawan... I sense that you will go on to become a powerful Jedi Master. You have been everything a master could hope for an apprentice.." Kolar said, which made his apprentice's eyes widen. Kriza felt slightly flustered, but she humbly bowed her head to her master.

"It's only because of your tutelage, that I've gotten this far, master.." She said, feeling incredible gratitude for her Jedi Master.

As the two of them bowed for each other in sheer gratitude for one another, the moment was cut short by the clone commander of the 32nd Legion; CC-8992, nicknamed "Bolt", who approached them.

The 32nd clone legion's armors were decorated with a brownish digital camouflage, which was designed after one of _Iridonia's_ native animal species; the _triz_. Master Kolar was born on Iridonia, and he wanted to honor his homeplanet, by customizing his clone subordinates with triz influenced camouflage.

"General Kolar... we may have a problem..." Clone commander Bolt said, a small holographic projector on his hand. The two Jedi turned around, listening to the clone, who activated the holographic projector, which began transmitting a human fleet officer.

"Captain Traflar... what's happening?" The zabrak Jedi asked, folding his arms, as he and his Padawan took a step closer to the clone. The captain of the fleet in Tanaab's low orbit, Traflar, looked around frantically, sounds of explosion coming through the projector's speakers.

"We're under attack, General! A fleet of ships has engaged us, and we're outmatched! Heavy casualties... we will not hold!" The human captain said loudly, the hologram flickering, as an explosion shook the ship he was on. Kriza's heart skipped a beat, and her master frowned.

"Is it the Separatists? Are they back already?" He asked, to which the frantic captain shook his head.

"No sir! The ships that are attacking us are of Hapan design... but.. that can't be right... the hapans shouldn't be-" Traflar explained, before a sudden explosion cut off the transmission.

The thundering sounds of explosions then filled the sky, the clouds lighting up with flames, as the Republic fleet was being obliterated in the low orbit. Kriza and Kolar looked up, seeing how stray shots of turbolaser fire started to rain down on the planet's surface. The clones in the camp began running around, assuming battle stations. The zabrak Jedi frowned, and turned to look at Bolt.

"Bolt, we need to prepare for an assault! Rally our men, and prepare to repel these aggressors!" Kolar shouted, to which his clone commander answered with a salute.

"Right away, sir!" The clone replied, before turning around, and running off to relay his general's orders.

As the clones ran around the camp, taking up arms, and manning their vehicles, most of which were _AT-RT_ walkers, Master Kolar and Kriza looked at each other. The young woman's heart was pounding, and her master could see the fear in her eyes.

"Do not fret, my Padawan... stay strong.." The zabrak said, placing his hand on Kriza's shoulder, who took a deep breath.

"Y-yes.. master. I just... I thought that the Hapes Consortium was neutral.." The young human woman answered. Her master sighed, and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah.. I thought so too. We must be ready for them, in any case..." Kolar said, patting his apprentice's shoulder lightly.

At that moment, another explosion got their attention, and the two Jedi could then see the flaming wreck of a _Pelta-class_ frigate, fall down from the sky, and crash in the middle of the fields, engulfing the crops in flames. Kriza gasped slightly, as she prayed that the farmers could evacuate in time.

She then looked up to the sky again, now seeing several Hapan Battle Dragons, and a few Nova-class cruisers, descend towards the ground, dozens of _Miy'til_ starfighters going after the disarrayed Republic fighters, and bombers.

Master Kolar grabbed his lightsaber, activating it, and brandishing its blue blade. A lone Miy'til starfighter approached him, shooting its cannons twice. As the fighter flew over them, the zabrak Jedi Master managed to deflect the cannon rounds with his lightsaber, as the clone troopers around them attempted to shoot at the Hapan fighter with their small arms.

"Get ready, Kriza! This will get ugly..." Kolar said, panting slightly. Kriza swallowed audibly, her breathing getting heavier.

She looked at the sky again, now seeing several troop transports descending with the Hapan warships. They'd have a real battle on their hands again, and this one seemed to be much worse, than what they had faced before with the Separatists.

Kriza tried to control her breathing, and remember her master's teachings on calmness, and diligence, but the situation was too hectic for her to succeed. She breathed heavily, and grabbed her lightsaber hilt from her waist.

With a deep breath, she pressed her weapon's activation button, brandishing an unique cyan colored blade from the lightsaber hilt. The young woman then exhaled long, closing her eyes for a moment. She centered herself through the Force, clearing her mind, and focusing on the situation at hand.

Kriza then opened her eyes, a frown appearing on her face. She was ready; ready to fight, ready to do battle, and give everything she got, in order to keep Tanaab from falling to aggressors. She lifted her lightsaber up, taking the opening stance of the _Form IV: Ataru_ style. She glanced at her zabrak master, taking a deep breath again.

"I'm ready, master!" She announced to the zabrak male, who smiled slightly.

The two of them then stood ready, waiting for the Hapan troop transports to approach, and land, as their clone men readied for battle as well. This was the first major attack by the Hapes Consortium, in their new war against both the Republic, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the hapans were damned to fight to the death...


	7. Chapter 6: Fateful Decision

**Chapter 6: Fateful Decision**

 **Two years earlier...**

The noon sunlight from _Coruscant Prime_ , shined through the tall windows of a small training room in the Jedi Temple. At the middle of the room, the young togruta Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, silently sat on the floor, that was covered in soft mats. She had her eyes closed, and her legs crossed, as she meditated on the floor. Her two lightsaber hilts rested on the floor in front of her.

Ahsoka's breathing was steady, her heartbeat calm. The only noise in the room was the sound of the young girl's quiet breathing. As she meditated, Ahsoka could feel the warm aura of the Force all around her, which calmed her even further.

After a moment, she could suddenly feel a presence in the Force, of someone approaching her. Before she could react, she sensed that the person approaching her, used the Force themselves. Ahsoka extended her hands, trying to grab her lightsaber hilts, but they were pulled away from her with the Force.

Ahsoka opened her eyes, seeing her weapons flying through the air. The hilts were caught in mid air by her Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker, who had a grin on his face. The young togruta looked at her master, who took a step towards her.

"Wow.. you must be deep in your meditation, to not be able to sense me sooner, Snips.." The human Jedi Knight said with a chuckle. Ahsoka rolled her eyes slightly, pouting her mouth.

"I actually was pretty centered, master... but now it's of course ruined. So thanks a lot.." She answered sarcastically, which made her master laugh.

"You're very welcome, Ahsoka." Anakin answered with a smirk, walking towards his Padawan. The young human man then placed his apprentice's lightsabers down on the floor, as well as his own, which made Ahsoka raise her brows. Anakin then walked over to her, extending his hand.

"Don't tell me you forgot about our scheduled sparring session.." The human Jedi Knight said quietly, to which his apprentice sighed, taking his hand, and getting up.

"Well, I was hoping that **you** would have forgotten about it..." Ahsoka replied, which made Anakin chuckle again.

"And still you came to this training room to meditate. Come on, Snips... it's not that boring; I'll make sure you face a real challenge this time.." He said with a grin. His togruta Padawan rolled her eyes slightly again, taking a step back from him.

"That'd be a nice change, master; you've always been pretty soft on me during sparring lessons..." She said, taking a deep breath, and bowing to her Jedi Master. Anakin scoffed slightly, bowing to her as well.

"You know I don't want to harm you in any way, Snips..." The man answered with a smirk. Ahsoka scoffed as well, taking a few steps back.

"Yeah, sure you don't, Skyguy. I'll take you down this time... without you letting me.." She answered with a confident smirk. Her master let out a laugh, raising his hands slightly, and getting ready.

"Oh really? Well.. try your best, Ahsoka.." He said, winking his eye at her.

The two Jedi then circled each other, waiting for one another to strike first. Anakin made a fake lunge at Ahsoka, which made her jump back slightly. The human Jedi Knight smirked, taking a step back as well, waiting for her to make the first move.

Ahsoka then lunged at him, grabbing him by his shoulders, and attempting to bring him down. The Jedi specialized in grabbing and throwing, in hand-to-hand combat, and preferred that, instead of striking and hitting. The young togruta wasn't able to overpower her master, as was expected, and so Anakin gently shoved her back.

"Okay.. good. Always remember, that if an opponent is bigger than you, and manages to throw you back, you need to keep on the attack, and try to come up with new tactics.." The human man advised, to which his apprentice scoffed quietly.

"I managed to deal with that big _trandoshan_ hunter a month back... I know what I'm doing, Skyguy." Ahsoka assured, which made her master hum quietly.

"You know I'm proud of you about that, Ahsoka... but you need to train more. Who knows what would have happened, if that _karkarodon_ got his hands on you, when we were on Mon Cala..." Anakin replied, circling around his Padawan again.

A little over a month ago, Ahsoka had been captured by trandoshan sport hunters, while she was fighting on the planet of _Felucia_. She had been taken to one of _Trandosha's_ moons; _Wasskah_ , where the hunters let her loose, only to attempt to hunt her down for sport.

Even though Anakin had done his hardest, trying to find her, Ahsoka had succeeded in rallying three other Jedi Initiates, who had also been abducted by the trandoshan hunters. With the group's, as well as a wookiee prisoner's help, Ahsoka had managed to fight back against the trandoshans, and destroy their operation, killing their leader in hand-to-hand combat as well, albeit with the help of the Force.

After that, Ahsoka and Anakin had been reunited, which brought immense happiness to both of them. Since then, the young human man had kept his Padawan even closer to him, wanting to make sure that she would never be taken, or harmed again. Even though Ahsoka thought, that her master was pampering her now, she still enjoyed being given more attention from him, which was in part due to her infatuation towards the man.

Then, a little less than a week ago; Anakin, Ahsoka and Jedi Master Kit Fisto, along with senator Padmé Amidala, had been dispatched to the ocean world of _Dac_ ; otherwise known as _Mon Calamari_ , or _Mon Cala_. Separatist minded _quarren_ had assassinated the _mon calamari_ King of Dac, in order to sow chaos on the planet, and make a Confederate occupation easier.

The mon calamari asked the Republic to aid them in the battle to liberate their planet, to which the Jedi, and the Senate, had gladly obliged to. With the help of the _gungan_ warriors of Naboo, the Jedi and the clone forces had been able to rout the droid forces from Dac, and secured the crowning of the mon calamari king's son, who became the new ruler of the planet. The rebellious quarren had also defected from the Confederacy, joining forces with the Republic near the end of the battle.

During the battle, Ahsoka had encountered the Separatist army's leader; a karkarodon male, named _Riff Tamson_. Even though she didn't face the shark-like soldier in hand-to-hand combat, the possibility of it had been large, which was likely why Anakin now wanted to further train her in martial arts.

"Well.. I had my lightsaber with me, so nothing bad would have happened." Ahsoka answered to her master, who hummed in response.

"I know.. but whenever you don't have your lightsaber, you have to rely on your skills in hand-to-hand combat, and the Force..." Anakin said, motioning his apprentice to attack him again.

Ahsoka bit her lip, quickly thinking about her possible strategies. She then lunged at Anakin, though not attacking him head on, and instead, hunched down, and dodged the human's attempt at a counterattack. Ahsoka grabbed her master's right leg, and managed to trip him, making him fall on the floor.

The young togruta girl then immediately moved over the downed human Jedi, wrapping her legs around his neck and upper body, and grabbing his left arm, and twisting it, putting Anakin into an "armlock". The human Jedi clenched his teeth together, as his Padawan's surprising technique had caught him off guard, and was actually bringing pain to him.

"Woah... okay.. urh.. good... good job, Snips.." He said, breathing heavier, and gently tapping his hand on Ahsoka's arm. Before she could let him go, Anakin suddenly used the Force to push her off, sending her flying in the air.

As the human Jedi Knight got up, his surprised apprentice did a few flips in the air, regaining control over her flight. Ahsoka then landed on the floor, athletically doing a flip in the air before it. Anakin raised his eyebrow, having not expected that.

"Nice..." He said, nodding in approval. As Anakin took a readying stance again, Ahsoka took a deep breath.

The young togruta then suddenly jumped up again, spinning in the air. Anakin raised his eyebrows, having no idea, what was about to happen. Ahsoka spun around, and landed a "butterfly kick" on the back of her master's head, which was hard enough to knock him out.

Anakin's limb body fell on the floor, his face hitting the soft mat. Ahsoka panted heavily, being quite surprised herself, for landing such a heavy hitting attack on her master. After a few seconds, Anakin regained his senses, and sat up, looking at his apprentice.

"That was... unexpected, Snips.. I don't remember teaching you that..." He said, rubbing the back of his head, which had been hit. Ahsoka calmed her breath, feeling a bit flustered.

"Well... uh... I've trained on my own... and I've picked up a few tricks.." She explained, feeling slight heat on her cheeks, as she rubbed her arm. Anakin chuckled slightly, still sitting on the floor.

"Well, I'm glad you did.. because that seriously caught me off guard. Nice work, Snips.." He said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. Ahsoka felt good, a smile appearing on her face.

She walked over to her master, and offered her hand, smiling sweetly. Anakin looked into her eyes, a sudden smirk appearing on his face. He took her hand, but instead of pulling himself up, the human Jedi Knight pulled his apprentice down. Ahsoka had not expected that, and was completely blind sighted by it, gasping as Anakin pulled her down, and pushed himself over her, as she lied on the floor. He had a wide grin on his face, as he stared at the surprised togruta.

"And of course... I got the upper hand in the end.." He said, winking his eye at his Padawan, who breathed heavier, her eyes wide as plates.

"Only through cheating, master!" Ahsoka answered, her voice slightly outraged. Anakin laughed in response, winking his eye at her again.

"Trickery isn't the same as cheating, darling.." He noted with a chuckle, which made his Padawan roll her eyes.

The two of them calmed down in the next moments, their breathing returning to normal. At that moment, both Ahsoka and Anakin noticed, that the human man was holding his apprentice, by hooking her leg, his hand on her thigh. Anakin bit his lip, his eyes looking into Ahsoka's who began to breathe a bit heavier again.

The human man then took a deep breath, his hand slowly moving up Ahsoka's thigh. That made her breathe heavier, and her eyes widen. Anakin looked deep into her eyes, a slight smile forming on his face. Ahsoka bit her lip, and moved her hands behind his head, her fingers going through his hair.

They moved closer to each other, their mouths open. Ahsoka's heart was pounding in her chest. She wanted this so much, but that only made her even more anxious. Seconds later, their lips were nearly touching each other, their breathing hitting one another's mouths.

"Your eyes.. they're so beautiful..." Anakin whispered, his lips gently brushing Ahsoka's, who felt extreme heat on her face, and her entire body.

"Uh-huh..." She whispered in response, wanting to kiss him already.

After that, their lips finally touched, locking them into a soft kiss. Both of them closed their eyes, enjoying every second of the tender moment. Ahsoka had never felt such a sensation before; she was completely flustered, but so enamored by it. She moved her fingers through Anakin's hair, their lips parting for a moment, before touching each other again for another kiss.

They kissed each other for a few times more, before Ahsoka suddenly pushed herself strongly against her master, making him fall back slightly. She moved herself on top of him, pushing him on the floor. She looked him in his blue eyes, her breathing quite heavy.

"I guess you wanted to do this, when you kissed me a few months back, huh?" Anakin asked quietly, a smile on his face, as he gently moved his hand on Ahsoka's back, who bit her lip, and nodded.

"You've no idea how much I wanted this... but it would have been a lot smoother on the bed, to be honest.." She answered, which made her master laugh quietly.

"Well... I guess we can make up for that.." The young human man answered, to which Ahsoka bit her lip. Just the thought of that made her excited, and feel heat all over her body.

"I... I already thought, that you didn't like me... or.. I mean... that you didn't want to kiss me..." She whispered, looking away from him for a second. Anakin smiled, and moved his hand on her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing on it.

"I was just surprised back then, Ahsoka... but if I'm honest.. I've wanted to kiss you for a while now..." He replied quietly, which made the young girl blush heavily.

"I... I never thought we'd be doing this..." She said very quietly, almost giggling. Her master chuckled, and gently rubbed her cheek again.

"Well.. we are now..." Anakin replied quietly, which made his Padawan smile adorably, and bit her lip.

The two of them kissed again, tightly pressing their lips against each other. Anakin moved his hand on Ahsoka's back, as well as the back of her head. They kissed each other for a dozen times, each one being more passionate.

As they then parted away for a moment, Anakin suddenly pressed his mouth against Ahsoka's neck, kissing it passionately. The young togruta gasped, pressing herself tighter against him.

"Oh my goodness.." She moaned quietly, having never felt in such a way. Anakin then moved his tongue over her neck, as he kissed it, which sent shivers down Ahsoka's spine, and made her gasp again.

After a moment, Anakin then pushed himself on top of her again, and they passionately kissed yet again. He moved his hand up her thigh again, which only increased the feeling of heat on her body. Ahsoka wanted the moment to go on forever, and go even further; she had never felt this way before.

As they continued kissing, the two of them could then suddenly hear noises nearby. They parted, their breathing heavy. Then, they could hear footsteps, approaching them, which made both of their eyes widen.

"Anakin? Ahsoka? Are you in here?" The distinctive voice of Obi-Wan said. Both Anakin and Ahsoka gasped, quickly moving away from each other.

They weren't able to get up quickly enough, as the human Jedi Master stepped into the training room. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows, and folded his arms, as he saw the two of them sit on the floor, panting, and slightly sweaty.

"Are you two okay..?" He asked, looking at the two young Jedi, who both nodded quickly.

"Yeah! Yeah, we were just doing some martial arts training, master.." Anakin answered, calming his breath, and rubbing the back of his head. Obi-Wan had his eyebrows raised, as he leaned against the wall.

"Oh? Well, you should focus more on that training the next time.. I can sense how distracted the both of you are..." The experienced Jedi Master said, to which his former Padawan nodded again.

"Yes! Absolutely... it was more of a sparring match between us this time.. nothing to worry about." He said, to which his former master hummed quietly, before nodding.

"Alright then. Well, if you are done, then come with me; the Council has asked us to a meeting with the Chancellor." Obi-Wan said, standing straight again. Anakin quickly glanced at Ahsoka, after which he got up, and helped his apprentice up as well.

"Okay.. sure.. we'll be right behind you..." The young human man said, biting his lip, as he gently brushed off non-existent dust from Ahsoka's shoulder, avoiding eye contact with his former master. Obi-Wan folded his arms, and raised his eyebrows again.

"Alright... I'll see you both at the hangar bay. I suggest haste, though; the Chancellor won't wait forever..." He said, after which he left the training room. Anakin and Ahsoka stood still for a moment, before sighing deep in relief. Ahsoka bit her lip, rubbing her arm.

"That was close..." She said quietly, to which her master sighed, and nodded in agreement.

"Let's be more careful the next time... Maker only knows how much trouble we'd be, if the rest of the Order found out about that..." He answered, stroking his chin for a moment.

After a moment, the young man then, placed his hand on his Padawan's shoulder.

"Alright... let's go, Snips. We'll talk about this later.. okay?" Anakin asked, to which the togruta girl quickly nodded her head.

"Yeah... definitely." Ahsoka answered quickly, licking her lips slightly, the taste of her master's lips still there.

Anakin then chuckled slightly, and patted her shoulder, before he walked out of the room, picking up his lightsaber on the way to the doorway. Ahsoka bit her lip, and nodded to herself, also making her way out of the training room, and taking her lightsabers with her.

The two of them had just had a passionate moment with each other, and it confused them both. Ahsoka didn't know, what the future held in store for them about this, but if she was completely honest with herself, she wished that they could do it again.. and again.

She was in love with Anakin, and she hoped that he was starting to feel the same about her. Love and romantic relationships were strictly forbidden from the Jedi, but the young togruta couldn't care about it in the least right now. She had just had her first intimate moment, and that made her glimmer with excitement, and happiness, and she wanted more of it, no matter what the rest of the Jedi Order thought about it.

 **Present day...**

A strong gust of wind blew sand and dust around, hitting the reddish colored rocks in the _Valley of the Dark Lords_ on Korriban. The barren rocky planet had been the birthplace of the Sith Order, and had served as either the capital, or a major world in most of the _sith_ regimes, that had established themselves in the Galaxy. In the ancient dialects of the Sith language, the rocky world was named _Moraband_ , but the emergence of the human led Sith regimes, that name had long since been forgotten, and replaced by _Korriban_.

The native species of the planet, the red-skinned humanoid _sith_ , had long since fled the planet, their numbers having diminished over the thousands of years since their last great empire had fallen. Nowadays, the sith were largely believed to have gone extinct, as none of them had been seen in the known Galaxy for at least 900 years.

A Sheathipede-class transport shuttle descended upon the large valley, touching down on the rocky and sandy surface. The ship shut down its engines, after which it lowered the boarding ramp. Two IG-100 MagnaGuard droids walked down the ramp, positioning themselves next to it, as they got down to the ground.

The dark clothed mirialan female, Barriss Offee, slowly walked down the ramp, her feet then touching the sand, which sent slight dust flying around. The young woman took a deep breath, moving her dark hood over her head, in an effort to cover herself from Korriban's rather hostile climate. She turned around for a moment, looking at her servant guard droids.

"Inform Lord Sidious, that I've reached Korriban. I will return as soon as I retrieve Darth Cognus' lightsaber..." The young mirialan said, to which her droids silently nodded. As the droids boarded the shuttle again, Barriss turned her attention to the massive valley that she was in.

It was the Valley of the Dark Lords; the ancient burial place of hundreds of Sith Lords. The most prominent and powerful Dark Lords had built massive temples, that served as their tombs. The less prominent Sith Lords had either been buried in less impressive temples, where they shared their tomb with dozens of others like them, or they had never been buried at all.

Every Sith knew about the tombs of such Dark Lords as _Marka Ragnos_ , _Ludo Kressh_ , _Tulak Hord_ , and _Darth Bane_. Even the legendary Sith Lord Naga Sadow had a tomb in the Valley, despite the fact, that his body was never buried in the temple.

In fact, Sadow's old rival, Ludo Kressh, had initially built the tomb for himself, but had a new one constructed for him later, while the existing one was established as Sadow's tomb; which would forever remain without the body of the Sith Lord.

Barriss was tasked with retrieving the powerful lightsaber of Darth Cognus; the last Sith Lord to have had a tomb built for them on Korriban. Lord Cognus had been the former apprentice of _Darth Zannah_ , who had in turn been the apprentice of the legendary Darth Bane; the Sith Lord who established the _Rule of Two_ for the Sith Order.

The Rule of Two was Darth Bane's successful attempt at reforming the Sith, who had fallen into utter chaos, after losing the _New Sith Wars_ to the Jedi, and the Republic. The thousand years of near nonstop conflict had been ravaging for both the Sith, and the Jedi, but only one of these groups could properly rebuild their strength.

Whereas the Jedi were united, always helping each other, the Sith on the other hand, were always divided by rivalry and infighting. Even in the stable Sith governments, the Dark Side users fought each other for power and influence, often assassinating each other, or sabotaging one another's operations.

Because of this, Darth Bane had decided, that there could only be two Dark Lords of the Sith in the Galaxy at a time; a master, and an apprentice. Even though there could be multiple dark adepts, and Force users that attempted to rise up to the rank of an apprentice, there could still only be two Sith Lords at a time. It had been this way for around 981 years, which was the reason, why the Jedi thought the Sith Order to have gone extinct as a threatening organization.

Even with the Rule of Two, the ancient ways of the Sith still remained. The most common way for an apprentice to rise up to the rank of a Sith Master, was to deceive and surprise their mentor, and kill them. Not even the strongest of bonds could usually stop an apprentice from killing their master, for the sole purpose of becoming the master themselves.

This had been the case with Darth Bane's apprentice Zannah, and then with her apprentice Darth Cognus. After Cognus, no other Sith had had a tomb built for them on Korriban, as the planet had been abandoned completely after the last major conflict between the Sith, and the Jedi.

Being the last Sith to have a tomb built for her on the planet, Darth Cognus' final resting place was most likely not as large and spectacular, as the tombs of the great Sith Lords of the old times. Barriss hummed quietly to herself, as her eyes travelled all around the massive valley of temples.

She then took a deep breath again, before starting to make her way to the centre of the valley, where she could more than likely spot the tomb of Darth Cognus. Barriss looked around constantly, as she walked further in to the Valley of the Dark Lords; remembering Darth Sidious' warning about Korriban being a hostile, and dangerous planet.

 **...**

The morning suns of Tatooine shined through Ahsoka's bedroom's window, the blinds intercepting some of the light though. The 18 year old togruta girl stood next to her bed, stretching her body, having gotten up a few moments earlier. She was wearing only her underwear, as the hot climate of the desert planet made it pretty impossible to not sweat during the nights inside, even if the temperature outside on the sand dunes could get very cold.

As she stepped over to her small wardrobe, the door to her bedroom opened. Ahsoka turned around, and could see her former Jedi Master Anakin leaning on the doorframe, shirtless, his eyes slowly looking up and down on her. The young man smirked slightly, folding his arms.

"Well... now I'm glad I came by.." Anakin said with a grin, as he stared at the togruta girl's body.

Ahsoka had a slightly athletic body, being the result of her Jedi training. She in general had a nice feminine physique, which was to the liking of most heterosexual men, including her former master. As Anakin stared at her, Ahsoka rolled her eyes, turning towards him, and placing her hand on her waist, slightly posing for the man.

"Well, take it all in as long as you can, Skyguy... I'm not gonna be this skimpy for long.." She answered with a quiet scoff. Anakin chuckled, and walked to her, which made her heart beat slightly faster.

"Why not? Are you in a hurry?" He asked with a smile, before pulling her against him. Ahsoka looked at him with her brows raised, before rolling her eyes again.

"Unless you already forgot; you have a podrace to participate in today.." She replied with a slight smirk. Anakin laughed, and nodded, winking his eye at her.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten.. but I think we have a few hours to waste, before I need to get back to Watto..." He said quietly, moving his hand to touch Ahsoka's cheek, who bit her lip, and looked into his eyes.

"Ani... I'm not sure if it's a good idea for us to... be so close right now; you're needed back with the Jedi, and your mind is just going to be distracted, if we kiss.. and other stuff like that..." She noted, biting her lip. Anakin was quiet for a moment, before striking another sweet smile.

"Don't worry about it, Soka... let's just think about this moment, and nothing else.." The man replied, moving his mouth closer to the young togruta's, who sighed quietly.

"I want that... but I want what's good for you more than that.." Ahsoka whispered, wanting to kiss her former master, but was having second thoughts. Anakin smirked slightly, chuckling.

"And I am doing what's good for me, sweetheart..." He assured quietly, which made the togruta girl scoff quietly.

"You're such a smooth talker.." Ahsoka whispered back, shaking her head ever so slightly. Anakin chuckled, and nodded.

"I know you love it..." He whispered in response, which made the togruta girl bite her lip, and smile.

"I do.." She answered, before softly pressing her lips against Anakin's, kissing him with love.

The human Jedi gladly returned the kiss, pulling Ahsoka tighter against him, wrapping his arms around her beautiful body. They kissed more passionately, Ahsoka moving her fingers through Anakin's hair.

They parted for a moment, both of them looking each other in the eyes. Ahsoka smiled, and suddenly moved in behind Anakin, who raised his eyebrows. As soon as he turned around, the young man was pushed down on the bed. Anakin's eyes were wide, as he looked up at Ahsoka, who stood at the end of the bed, a slight smirk on her face.

The togruta girl winked her eye at him, before climbing up to the bed, and crawling towards him. Anakin sat up slightly, and was met with Ahsoka kissing him. She parted her lips from him, having positioned herself on top of the human Jedi Knight. She smiled at him, before moving her finger on his face, and lips.

"How much time did you say we have?" The girl asked quietly, biting her lip. Anakin was quiet, being slightly flustered. He then regained his composure, and smiled again.

"Enough time..." He answered with a chuckle, which made Ahsoka grin, and lay a quick kiss on his lips again.

"Well... let's spend that time the best we can, Ani.." She whispered back, gently touching her former master's cheek. Anakin smiled, and pulled her closer.

The two of them kissed quickly, before Ahsoka made herself comfy, snuggling in on Anakin, laying her head on his shoulder. The human man softly moved his hand on Ahsoka's back, and her arm, as she hummed happily, and snuggled in deeper against him.

"I've missed this so much.." The togruta girl said quietly, closing her eyes, as she traced her finger on Anakin's bare chest. The human Jedi smiled, and stroked Ahsoka's arm.

"Me too.. which is why I want you to come with me..." He answered, which made his former Padawan sigh deep.

"I want to... but I can't. I can't go back to the Jedi... I can't trust them like I used to.." Ahsoka whispered, her thumb gently stroking Anakin's skin. The human man bit his lip, and hummed.

"I know... which is why I won't go back either.." He said, which made the togruta open her eyes, and look up at him.

"What? Anakin... don't.. you'll just ruin your Jedi life for nothing..." Ahsoka said quietly, her voice sad. Anakin shook his head, looking into her eyes.

"I'm not doing it for nothing... I'm doing it for you..." He answered, to which his former apprentice sighed again.

"But why..? I'm not worth it, Ani..." She answered, biting her lip, and looking down. Her former master shook his head, and moved his finger under her chin, making her look at him again.

"Yes you are! I love you, Ahsoka..." Anakin said determinately, which made the young girl's eyes widen with shock. Ahsoka stared at him for a few long seconds; not believing her ears.

"You... you do..?" She asked, whispering. Anakin sighed deeply, smiling, and gently touching her cheek.

"Yes... by the Force I do, Ahsoka... I love you so much.." He replied, his thumb stroking Ahsoka's cheek. She breathed heavier, her face reddening slightly.

"I... I love you too, Anakin... I'm so in love with you..." She said in a happy tone, her blue eyes glimmering with excitement.

Before Anakin could respond, Ahsoka pushed herself over him again, and passionately kissed him. The human man smiled, kissing her back, and wrapping his arms around her. The two lovers kissed each other for a few moments; every time their lips parted, they pushed them against one another again.

After a moment, they parted slightly, Ahsoka comfortably lying on top of Anakin. She smiled, and looked deeply into his eyes. The human man smiled back, and stroked her cheek, also gently touching her lekku.

"Well... if you're sure, Ani... then please stay with me.." The togruta girl said quietly, smiling at her love, who chuckled slightly.

"You don't even have to ask, beautiful... I won't go anywhere.." Anakin answered, giving a quick kiss on ahsoka's cheek, which made her smile wider. After a moment, the girl bit her lip.

"But... what will we do about the Jedi? They will come looking for you, if they haven't already..." She said quietly, knowingly lying to him, as she knew that the Jedi were already on Tatooine, looking for him.

"Well... once Watto helps me get off Tatooine.. you could come with me. Unless, you've grown attached to this piece of lifeless rock already?" Anakin replied with a chuckle, to which his togruta lover chuckled as well, shaking her head.

"I'd go anywhere with you, Anakin... even the far reaches of the Unknown Regions. As long as I have you, even the swamps of Nal Hutta are a place I could live in.." Ahsoka answered quietly, which made the human let out a laugh.

"Didn't know you had a poetic side, Soka.." He said, to which the young woman smiled, her eyes filled with adoration.

"Being so in love with you brings out new things in me..." She answered, which only made Anakin chuckle again.

"Well, I'm glad, sweetheart. Now... what were we in the middle of earlier..?" The man asked, winking his eye at the girl, who blushed slightly. Anakin moved his hand over her back, going down on her bottom, and squeezing it slightly. That made Ahsoka gasp quietly in surprise.

"You're being quite bold today, Skyguy.." She said with a smirk, to which her lover grinned as well.

"So were you a few minutes ago..." He replied with a wink, which made Ahsoka chuckle.

"Good point. So... shut up, yeah?" She said, before passionately pushing her lips against his.

They kissed time and time again, their tongues passionately touching each other every now and then. As they kept kissing, Ahsoka could feel more and more heat all over her body, sweat slightly forming up on her back. She stroked Anakin's cheek, kissing him more, and sticking her tongue in his mouth, which made the human man squeeze her bottom again.

The blue and white colored astromech droid, R2-D2, then quietly moved over to the doorframe. The droid noticed his owner being busy, which made him chirp and beep a few times. Anakin didn't bother, and instead quickly swiped his hand, closing the bedroom's door with the help of the Force, while continuing to kiss Ahsoka.

R2 was quiet for a moment, staring at the closed door, and hearing the sounds of passionate kissing inside. The small droid then turned around, and silently made his way back over to the living room, knowing that it was useless to try to get his master's attention at this moment.

R2 stopped in the living room, and began waiting, his dome head quietly looking around. After a moment, the droid beeped a few times, before setting himself on "sleep mode", knowing that Anakin would "wake" him up, whenever he and Ahsoka were ready to get on with the day.

 **...**

An explosion threw mud and dirt around, hitting the armors of killed clone troopers, that lied on the ground. The air was filled with smoke, nearby grass having been set on fire. Dozens of blaster bolts flew through the air, most missing their targets, and a few blasting away small twigs and bushes.

Human Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam panted slightly, swinging her cyan colored lightsaber around, deflecting incoming blaster bolts. The Hapan forces had landed on Tanaab less than fifteen minutes earlier, and were already routing the Republic defenses. Kriza spun around, her lightsaber deflecting more shots. Her zabrak Jedi Master Agen Kolar, also deflected blaster bolts with his weapon, standing a few meters away from his apprentice.

More clone troopers ran to their Jedi Generals, being led by clone commander "Bolt". The armored soldiers begun returning fire at the hapan soldiers, who were advancing up the hill. Their landing zone was at the root of the hill, Hapan controlled _Kappa-class_ transports having brought dozens of elite Hapes Consortium's foot soldiers.

Kappa-class transports had been the Republic's go-to troop transports leading up to the Clone Wars. As the war had begun, newer, more advanced transports had been developed, such as the Nu-class attack shuttles. A successor to the Kappa transports was in development before the war, which would have replaced the aging shuttles. The _Lambda-class_ transport shuttles however did not proceed from prototype models, as the beginning of the war forced the development to halt.

Hapes Consortium had long since acquired such craft for use, lend leasing them from the Republic. The hapans had always built their own weapons, ships and equipment, such as the Battle Dragons and Nova cruisers. But they had seemingly never bothered to fully develop a transport shuttle of their own design, and instead acquired the schematics from somewhere else, namely the Republic.

Kriza huffed slightly, as the constant deflecting of blaster bolts had tired her. Several hapan men ran towards her, and the clones next to her, shooting their blaster rifles relentlessly. Hapes had created their own weapons, which were similar to Republic blasters in every single way, except for their appearance. The rifles shot orange colored bolts, whereas most Republic weapons shot out either blue, or green colored bolts of plasma energy.

The human Jedi Padawan managed to deflect some of the energy bolts back at the attacking hapans, which wounded or killed them, while the clone troopers near her finished them off. Her master Agen Kolar did the same with any of the approaching enemy troops, commander Bolt faithfully fighting beside him.

Kriza then noticed a _Theta-class T-2c_ shuttle flying in the air, sporting Hapes Consortium insignia. The shuttle descended towards the ground, stray blaster bolts deflecting on its shields. The Theta-class shuttles were mostly used by influential Republic senators, and the Supreme Chancellor, which could only mean, that a high-ranking hapan officer, was coming to join the fight.

Master Kolar lunged forward, striking down the last Hapan soldier, that was in the immediate area. He and his Padawan, as well as their clone subordinates, could take a short moment to catch their breath. The Theta-class shuttle landed around 40 meters away from them, being accompanied by more Kappa-class transport shuttles.

As Kriza took a deep breath, and took a readying stance with her lightsaber, her zabrak Jedi Master's eyes widened. Agen Kolar sensed something, and it made his heart skip a beat. The zabrak man turned to his Padawan, who was waiting for the battle to continue.

"Kriza... you need to go.. now!" He said in a slightly distressed voice. Kriza frowned deeply, looking at her master.

"What!? What are you talking about?" The human female asked, breathing slightly heavy. Her master had a worried look on his face, and took a step towards her.

"You have to go! Retreat to the forest, and try to get to Outpost Upsilon... I'll stay back, and hold them off.." Master Kolar said, deactivating his lightsaber, and walking over to his apprentice, who had a confused, and outraged look on her face.

"What... why? I want to fight beside you! We can defeat them!" Kriza said back, also deactivating her lightsaber. Master Kolar sighed deeply, quickly glancing at the Hapan forces, that were now disembarking from the transports. He then looked back at his Padawan, and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"We may not survive the fight against this enemy, Kriza. I sensed someone... a person who is coming to kill us. I will try to talk to her... but I need you to escape. If I can't turn her back... you need to get out of here alive.." The zabrak man explained, which only confused his apprentice more.

"What? Who is coming? Don't do this to me, Agen! Don't make me leave you behind!" Kriza shouted back, her eyes watering up slightly. She didn't want to leave her master behind, even if death would threaten them.

"Kriza, I mean it! I can't let the brightest, and one of the most skilled Padawans to be killed in a battle like this. Please... go to Outpost Upsilon, and get off Tanaab.." Kolar answered, which made his apprentice bit her lip, and look down, a tear running down her cheek.

"Master.. don't..." She said quietly, shaking her head. Her zabrak master sighed, and looked around, before signaling a nearby clone to him.

"Captain _Spades_ ; please take my Padawan to Outpost Upsilon. Do not turn back at any point, no matter what happens! Get to the outpost, and evacuate!" Master Kolar ordered, to which the clone trooper nodded his head, and quickly saluted him.

"Yes sir!" Captain Spades answered, before turning to Kriza, who bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. Her master sighed, and touched his shoulder again.

"It's time for you to walk your own path, my Padawan. The Force will be with you... always..." The zabrak man said quietly, which made his apprentice sigh long. Kriza took a deep breath, her cheeks slightly wet from the tears. Clone captain Spade signaled two other troopers to him, before quickly patting the human female's shoulder.

"We have to go, Commander.." The clone said, which made Kriza bite her lip, and look at her master one last time.

"May the Force be with you, master..." She said, before turning around, and running to the nearby forest with the three clones. Master Kolar looked as his Padawan left, sighing to himself.

The zabrak Jedi then turned back around, he and his clone troopers facing the approaching Hapan army. Nearly a hundred hapan soldiers were approaching them, their weapons at the ready. The clones raised their weapons as well, but their Jedi General held his hand up, signaling them not to open fire.

The hapan men also kept their fingers from the trigger, simply approaching the Republic forces, being ready. As the soldiers got around ten meters away from the Jedi Master, they stopped, and silently kept their enemy in their sights.

After a moment, the Hapan soldiers suddenly turned, forming two rows, and having a pathway formed at the middle of the "aisle". The dozens of hapan men then knelt down, bowing their heads. Master Kolar raised his eyebrows slightly, as he looked on the soldiers.

Then, walking the pathway in the middle of the column of soldiers, was a hapan female, wearing an elegant, white and hazel colored light armor, with white silk cloths attached to parts of it. Next to the female, walked a large, intimidating looking hapan male, clad in heavy armor, and covered in cybernetic replacements and enhancements.

The Jedi Council member took a deep breath, knowing full well, who the beautiful hapan woman was. The zabrak man sighed, biting his lip, before bowing in front of the woman, who stopped a few meters away from him.

"Queen Mother... this is surprising.." Master Kolar said, courteously bowing to the Hapan ruler, who scoffed quietly, placing her hand on her waist.

"Agen Kolar... been a long time since we last met.." Ta'a Chume answered with a slight smirk. The zabrak Jedi Master sighed, standing straighter again.

"I'd like to know why you've attacked us, Kayla..." Master Kolar asked, which made the former hapan Jedi frown.

"That is not my name anymore, Kolar. And to answer your question; I've decided to punish your precious Republic, for not just violating Hapan airspace, but also for bringing needless suffering to its people..." The Queen Mother explained, folding her arms. The zabrak Jedi sighed long, looking down.

"You don't need to declare war on the Republic, and bring death to innocents, in order to make a statement..." He said, which made the woman in front of him scoff again.

"I'm doing this for the people of the Galaxy, Agen! The Republic is fallen, corrupt, and unworthy of protection. I will reshape the Galaxy into something great.. and I will destroy anyone, who dares stand in my way!" She answered loudly, taking a challenging step towards Kolar, who calmly stood his ground.

"Do you not care about the common people of the Republic, or even the Confederacy?" The zabrak man asked, which only seemed to anger the Hapan leader.

"The common people will be fine under my rule! They suffer under corrupt and power-hungry politicians! They have no leader! The Separatists are being led by a Sith Lord, and the Republic's Chancellor is corrupt! It needs to change!" Ta'a Chume yelled angrily, squeezing her hands. Master Kolar hummed quietly, knowing that he was provoking the rather young Queen Mother.

"And so you destroy the Republic and the Confederacy... and subjugate their people? How does that make you any better?" He asked, to which his former Jedi colleague took a deep breath, before humming.

"Maybe it doesn't... but I will give them a stable, working government. Make no mistake, Agen... I will destroy the Jedi as well, if you fight to the death for your fallen Republic..." She answered, which made the zabrak hum quietly.

"We will always fight for the death, in order to preserve freedom and democracy in the Galaxy..." Kolar stated, which made the hapan female scoff, and roll her eyes.

"And yet you still defend a Republic, that hasn't been a democracy for over a decade..." Ta'a Chume declared, finding her former colleague's words ironic.

After that, the large hapan officer, covered in cybernetics, took a step forward, getting his liege's attention. Master Kolar raised his eyebrows, seeing the sheer size of the intimidating man.

"My queen... let me deal with this Jedi filth.." The man said in a deep voice. The Queen Mother frowned, and struck him with a condescending glare.

"Silence, _Draco_! Step back in line... I will kill him myself.." She said in a sharp tone. Master Kolar sighed quietly, fearing that it would come down to this. Ta'a Chume then turned back to him, after her servant had taken a step back.

"I give you a chance of fighting for your life, Agen. Make your clone slaves stand back, and my men will also not interfere in our duel..." The hapan woman said, standing straight. The zabrak Jedi Master bit his lip, and nodded.

"Of course..." He answered simply, turning to his clone commander, who took a step closer to him.

"Sir... this will not end well.." Commander Bolt said, slightly objecting the plan, but his Jedi commanding officer simply nodded.

"It probably won't.. but stand back; that's your order..." Kolar said, which made his clone subordinate sigh, but nod his head in acknowledgment nonetheless.

As Bolt stepped back, the zabrak Jedi returned his attention to Ta'a Chume, who smiled slightly. Master Kolar took out his lightsaber, and activated it, brandishing its blue plasma blade. The Hapan Queen Mother chuckled quietly, and took out her weapon as well.

Ta'a Chume brandished her lightsaber's yellowish-orange blade, and brought it in front of her face, after which she brought it down to her side, having just performed the "Makashi salute".

Kayla Ni'Korish had been trained in the ancient, and elegant _Form II: Makashi_ style of lightsaber combat, used extensively by the Jedi Order's more traditional duelists. Count Dooku was one of the most famous users of this style, which relied heavily on the user's ability to use their feet expertly, to move out of the way of attacks, as well as to make swift, and precise strikes with the lightsaber.

Although Makashi worked best with a curved lightsaber hilt, it could be used with a regular hilt as well. Ta'a Chume's hilt wasn't curved, but she had trained well under the form, and was exceptionally talented in it, having been the best duelist of her class, years ago.

The hapan woman then began circling around with her opponent, slowly moving to her side, as the zabrak man did the same. Ta'a Chume took a deep breath, not having dueled a Force user in so many years, which was making her slightly nervous. She was facing a member of the Jedi Council as well; not an opponent many would have the courage to fight.

After a few seconds, Master Kolar made the first move, quickly stepping at the Queen Mother, and poking her with his lightsaber. The woman easily dodged the attack, gently striking the zabrak's lightsaber blade away with her own. Agen Kolar was considered one of the most skilled duelists in the Jedi Council, but even he had some doubts; knowing how powerful the former Jedi Knight, turned Queen Mother was.

The zabrak man then attempted to slash out at his opponent, utilizing Form I: Shii-Cho against her. Ta'a Chume deflected the attack, and counterattacked with several swift strikes and pokes, which Master Kolar either dodged, or blocked.

After that, the two of them took a step away from each other, circling one another again. Master Kolar brought his lightsaber up, taking a defensive stance. His hapan opponent then smirked slightly, her grin revealing her pearly white teeth.

"I can sense your worried thoughts, Agen... you are worried about your Padawan..." She taunted quietly, which made the zabrak's eyes widen slightly.

"After you're dead... I'll find her... and kill her slowly.." Ta'a Chume said, grinning devilishly. Kolar frowned deeply, and squeezed the lightsaber hilt in his hands.

The zabrak Jedi Master then lunged at her, aggressively attempting to slash her. The Queen Mother blocked the attack, locking herself in to a short blade lock. She then swiped her lightsaber out of the lock, and spun around, moving behind her Jedi opponent.

Master Kolar turned around, and lunged at her again, spearing his lightsaber at her. The hapan woman bent her back, and dodged the attack. This left the zabrak undefended, and the both of them realized that in a second.

Ta'a Chume grinned, and quickly slashed her weapon at the zabrak, deeply slicing him across the stomach, and torso. Master Kolar's eyes widened, and his mouth opened in a quiet gasp, as the Queen Mother slashed him. The zabrak man fell on his knees, his lightsaber hilt falling to the muddy ground.

The hapan woman smirked, standing behind her downed opponent. Clone commander Bolt saw what had happened, and immediately took a step forward, raising his DC-15S blaster carbine.

"General!" The clone shouted, aiming his weapon at the Queen Mother.

Ta'a Chume quickly spun around, and slashed the clone's weapon's barrel, cutting it in half. As Bolt dropped the carbine, and attempted to grab the blaster pistol on his waist, the Hapan Queen Mother spun around again, and now slashed at his neck, performing the _sai cha_ move on him, cutting his head off.

As the clone commander fell dead on the ground, the last dozen remaining clones raised their weapons as well. The Hapan forces however reacted quicker, and killed all of them in a few seconds, shooting the clones full of smoking holes.

After the clones were dead, Ta'a Chume then turned back around, and returned her attention to Agen Kolar, who was on his knees on the ground, his hand on the wound on his body. The hapan woman stepped directly behind him, swinging her lightsaber around.

"You made one fatal mistake, Agen; you let me distract you with threats against the people you care about. Shame that so many Jedi fall for that amateurish move..." She lamented, aiming her blade at the zabrak Jedi's back. Master Kolar took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

"Kriza is stronger than you believe... she will not fall to you..." He said quietly, holding his beliefs in his Padawan's abilities. The Queen Mother chuckled, nodding.

"Yes... she is 'special', isn't she? I'll be sure to look into that ' _gift_ ' of hers..." She said with a slight smirk.

Master Kolar then sighed, and lowered his head, accepting his fate. Ta'a Chume nonchalantly brought her lightsaber back, before suddenly driving it through the zabrak's back, impaling him. The Jedi Master fell on the ground, dying in a few seconds.

The Queen Mother swung her lightsaber around, before deactivating it. She looked upon the dead Jedi Council member, and took a deep breath. Several Hapan starfighters flew above her, attacking Republic targets nearby. Ta'a Chume then turned her attention to her soldiers, putting her lightsaber hilt on her waist.

"Burn down the Republic base... destroy everything you find.." She ordered, after which the near hundred man strong group began rummaging through the Republic FOB, destroy everything they came across. The Queen Mother then looked at her guardsmen, and her cyborg subordinate.

"Come with me... we'll hunt down this Willsaam girl.." She said, not ever having met Kriza, but having sensed her in Master Kolar's thoughts, which was why she knew about her.

The _Hapan Royal Guards_ , and the cyborg soldier _Draco S'Krill_ , saluted their Queen Mother. After that, the hapan woman began to make her way to the thick forest, that lied behind the Republic base; which was where Kriza and her clone protectors had retreated to. Her guardsmen followed, ready to do her bidding, no matter what.

 **...**

The dusty halls of the tomb of Darth Cognus echoed, as Barriss walked further into the ancient temple. The atmosphere was extremely eerie, which sent chills down the mirialan woman's spine. She hadn't encountered any defenses inside the temple, nor any hostile wildlife, which only increased the tense feeling she had on the back of her head.

The young woman then entered the main hall of the tomb, where the ancient Sith Lord's body was being held inside a sarcophagus. Barriss looked around, her breathing slightly heavy. The chilly atmosphere in the temple made her breath foggy, the eerie echoes and low hums making the tomb a bit frightening.

Barriss took a deep breath, and slowly walked towards the sarcophagus. She walked up a long set of stairs, getting to the top of the tomb. The woman bit her lower lip, looking at the grave of the ancient Sith Lord. She used the Force to push the sarcophagus open, revealing the remains of Darth Cognus.

The long dead iktotchi female was wearing a traditional Sith outfit, which had long since decayed. Her skeletal head sent chills down Barriss' spine, as she looked through the grave. Around Cognus' body several ornaments were laid down, such as jewelry, and other valuables. At the female Sith Lord's side, laid her lightsaber.

The mirialan woman took a deep breath, before slowly moving her hand on the lightsaber. She grabbed it, and lifted it up, taking it out of the sarcophagus. As she held the hilt in her hands, Barriss could feel the residue of the dead Sith Lord around the weapon, which again gave her the chills.

She then shook the weapon in her hand for a second, before activating it, brandishing its blood red blade. Barriss swung the lightsaber around once, before deactivating it. She hummed quietly to herself, placing the hilt on her belt. The mirialan female then carefully lifted the lid of the sarcophagus up, levitating it back on top of the grave. After that, Barriss let out a relieved breath, slightly stroking her chin.

A sudden echoing noise then got her attention, and she turned around. The sounds came from the entrance to the sarcophagus chamber, which made Barriss' heart skip a beat. She began to walk down the steps, keeping her hand on the lightsaber hilt on her waist, being ready to defend herself.

As she got to the end of the stairs, setting her feet down on the stone floor, Barriss could see two dark cloaked, black armored soldiers approaching her. The men were wearing black armor, identical to the _Red Guard_ of Chancellor Palpatine, and wielded long black pike-like weapons. Behind the armored men, walked Darth Sidious, his hands gracefully crossed, as he moved behind his servants.

Barriss' heart skipped a beat again, as she noticed her Sith Master. She immediately knelt down, bowing her head, as Lord Sidious stopped a meter or so away from her; the dark guardsmen standing beside him.

"Master... I.. I wasn't expecting you to come here..." The young woman said, her head bowed. The elder human Sith Lord was silent, before signaling his Sith acolyte to stand up.

"Stand, young Barriss. I see you managed to retrieve Darth Cognus' lightsaber without any problems..." Sidious said, his face being mostly covered under his dark hood. Barriss stood up, and nodded, bowing her head again.

"Yes... I have the lightsaber.." She answered, taking out the hilt, and showing it to the Sith Lord, who grinned slightly.

"Good... good... let's put it to use right away.." Sidious replied with a devilish smirk, which made the young mirialan raise her eyebrows.

Darth Sidious then took a few steps back, his dark cloaked guards stepping in front of him. Barriss' heart began beating faster, and she took a step back. The guards hit their pikes on the floor once, after which a short red colored lightsaber blade brandished from the tip of the spear.

"If my Shadow Guard defeat you... I will have no use for such a weak apprentice.." The Sith Lord said, his expression turning sour. The guards swung their lightsaber pikes around, preparing to fight the young mirialan.

The _Shadow Guard_ were an elite organization of Force-sensitive warriors. They were the reformed remnants of an old Sith cult of warriors, named the _Sun Guard_. Darth Sidious had employed the Sun Guard for decades, but after the destruction of their order at the hands of Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress, the remaining cultists were taken in by Sidious, and reformed into the Shadow Guard.

While many in the Sun Guard had not been Force-sensitive, the Shadow Guard were all adept at using the Force. They wore an armor identical to the Red Guard of the Supreme Chancellor, albeit colored obsidian black, instead of bright red. They also wielded lightsaber pikes/spears in combat; excelling at defensive combat.

Barriss breathed heavier, and held the lightsaber hilt tighter in her hands. She activated the weapon, brandishing its blade, after which she took the Soresu opening stance. Wielding Darth Cognus' lightsaber felt strange for her, as she had gotten so used to her Jedi lightsaber. It'd take a while, until she'd get familiar with using this ancient Sith weapon.

"Prove your mettle, Barriss... kill these two skilled men.. or falling to their blades will be the least of your worries..." Lord Sidious said, taking several steps back, and allowing his Shadow Guard to swing their weapons again, which made Barriss bite her lip.

The mirialan female took a step back again, tightening her grip on the lightsaber. The Shadow Guard swung their spears around, and approached her, before bringing their weapons to a halt, and pointed the tips at her.

Barriss took a deep breath, and raised her lightsaber, before lunging at the guardsmen. As she brought her weapon down, the Shadow Guard countered with raising their lightsaber pikes. Barriss struck her lightsaber, hitting the two blades, that formed a cross, as the guardsmen defended themselves against the attack.

The young mirialan woman breathed heavily, the lightsabers making a distinct crackling sound, as they were in a blade lock. A tear of sweat rolled down Barriss' forehead, as she was anxious. She had never fought against the Shadow Guard, and had no idea on how they operated in a duel.

This was going to be a difficult fight...

 **...**

The green forest on Tanaab was thick with vegetation and trees. Kriza Willsaam panted heavily, as she ran as fast as he could through the thick forest. Clone captain Spades, and two other troopers ran close behind their Jedi commander, escaping the advancing Hapan forces.

As the four of them got to a small clearing, with a large rock formation nearby, the sudden sounds of blaster fire got their attention. A stray plasma bolt flew through the air, and hit a tree near Kriza's head. The two clone troopers behind Spades turned around, and noticed Hapan soldiers advancing through the forest, less than a hundred meters away. One of the troopers turned around towards his captain.

"We'll hold them back, sir! Get the commander out of here!" The clone said, to which the captain nodded his head, quickly patting his subordinate's shoulder. Spades then turned to Kriza, and motioned her to follow him.

"Come on, Commander! We have to get to that cave!" The Captain said loudly, starting to run towards cave, that was located in the large rock formation. Kriza breathed heavily, her heart racing, as she followed the clone towards the cave.

The young human Jedi Padawan had sensed her master's death in the Force only a few minutes earlier, which made her frightened. It saddened her beyond belief, to have lost her Jedi Master so abruptly, but she knew that Agen Kolar would have wanted her to run, and escape with her life, rather than die beside him.

Kriza was terrified at what was coming after her. Whoever had killed her master, was coming her as well, and would most likely attempt to take her life too. And her master seemed to know this killer, having sensed them just before the battle, that had taken his life. This too only increased Kriza's fear, which was beginning to overwhelm her.

The two clone troopers turned back around, reloading their weapons, and crouching down, preparing to fight the advancing Hapan Royal Guard. The hapan men struggled slightly, moving through the dense vegetation, shooting their blaster rifles and carbines relentlessly.

The clones returned fire, blasting at the hapans with their DC-15 weapons. Suddenly, a bolt from the Hapan forces hit the other clone's neck, making him fall back on the ground, dying near instantly. The other clone retreated slowly, walking backwards, and returning fire at the hapan men, suppressing them with his DC-15A blaster rifle.

As the trooper turned around, attempting to retreat further in to the forest, and thus mislead the Hapan forces away from Kriza and Spades, he suddenly stopped, and began to grasp his throat. The clone gagged violently, grabbing his throat, choking. He was lifted in the air, someone choking him through the Force. The clone was then violently pulled through the air, his body meeting the blade of a lightsaber a second later, which ended his life instantly.

Clone captain Spades and his Jedi Commander Kriza, entered the small cave, located in the rock formation. The clone looked behind himself constantly; keeping an eye out for the hapans, and making sure that they weren't following. The sounds of gunfire had stopped, which worried the clone captain.

The two of them kept walking inside the cave, which was more like a tunnel; having an entrance on the other side of it as well. As they got near the other exit, Spades could hear sound coming from behind them. Kriza turned around as well, gasping quietly. The clone captain took out a DC-17 pistol, and quickly glanced at his Jedi Commander.

"Go on, Commander... I'll keep them busy.." The brave clone said, to which his superior officer bit her lip.

"I... I can't let all of you die.." Kriza answered, but the clone shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, ma'am... we're just doing our jobs.." Spades said, a smile on his face, that was hidden by his helmet. The echoing sounds of footsteps inside the cave got the clone's attention then.

"Go, Commander! Now!" The clone shouted, before charging to the other direction, frantically shooting his blaster pistol. Kriza breathed heavily, and could hear the sounds of a lightsaber deflecting Spades' shots.

The young woman turned around, and ran to the cave's other exit, wanting to get away from whoever was wielding a lightsaber against Spades. As she got to the exit, she was met with a squad of Hapan Royal Guardsmen, who had their weapons pointed at her. With the guards was a large human cyborg, who looked very intimidating.

Kriza gasped quietly, and grabbed her lightsaber hilt. She activated the weapon, brandishing its cyan blade. She then took a step back, but the sounds of a lightsaber hitting something caught her ear. As she turned her head around, she could see Spades' body rolling on the ground towards her, lightsaber cuts on his armor.

The young human female looked up, her heart pounding in her chest. She could then see a hapan woman, clad in light armor, and wielding a yellowish-orange colored lightsaber, slowly walking towards her. The woman swung her lightsaber around, a smirk on her face.

"Well, well... looks like we caught up to you.." The woman said with a grin. Kriza held her lightsaber up, not knowing what to do. The hapan female hummed quietly, taking a step towards her.

"So... you must be Kriza Willsaam. I could sense how proud your late master was of you..." She explained, her expensively built lightsaber humming beside her. Kriza held her weapon tighter, her heart beating faster.

"You killed him, didn't you? Who are you...? Are you a Dark Jedi..?" The young woman asked, breathing fast. The hapan female chuckled slightly, looking at the Jedi in front of her.

"You would think that, wouldn't you, dear? I'm no Dark Jedi... in fact, I used to be part of the Jedi Order.. just like you." She answered with a smile, which made Kriza raise her eyebrows. The hapan woman then spread her arms slightly.

"I am Ta'a Chume; the Queen Mother, and the rightful ruler of the Hapes Consortium." She then declared, to which Kriza bit her lip.

"If you used to be a Jedi.. why are you attacking us and the Republic?" The young woman asked, to which Ta'a Chume chuckled.

"I wouldn't attack the Jedi, if you would not defend the Republic no matter what. You used to be my brothers and sisters; I find no pleasure in killing you... but I have to do it, as long as you protect the Republic.." She explained. Kriza still couldn't understand it, and could only think, that the Queen Mother had fallen to the Dark Side.

"We just want to preserve freedom in the Galaxy... that's all.." The young human said, her voice trembling slightly. That made the Queen Mother laugh, and shake her head.

"Oh how naive you are, young one... it's actually kind of cute.." Ta'a Chume replied, eyeing the young Jedi Padawan in front of her, who held her lightsaber at the ready.

"Master Kolar didn't need to die... there's no reason for you to do any of this.." Kriza said, which made the Hapan Queen Mother shrug her shoulders.

"Master Kolar's death is unfortunate, but I have good reasons to doing this. You will not agree with them, but I don't need your approval to begin with..." Ta'a Chum answered, swinging her lightsaber again. Kriza took a deep breath, raising her weapon.

"I won't go down quietly.." She said determinately, although her nervousness was clearly visible. The Queen Mother chuckled again, nodding.

"I expected nothing else..." The hapan woman replied with a smile, taking a defensive posture with her lightsaber.

Kriza bit her lip, and raised her lightsaber, in an attempt to attack Ta'a Chume. However, just as she was about to strike, someone grabbed her wrist. Kriza looked to her right, seeing a cybernetic hand holding her wrist, and making her unable to attack. The human cyborg officer, Draco S'Krill, slowly twisted Kriza's hand and wrist.

The young human female hissed in pain, and dropped her lightsaber hilt, after the cyborg had twisted her wrist enough. After she had dropped her lightsaber, Kriza looked at Ta'a Chume again, who smiled, and walked to her, deactivating her lightsaber as well.

"Don't worry, dear... I won't kill you.. yet. I may have some use for you..." The Queen Mother said, smiling at the young human woman, who breathed heavily, fear clear in her eyes.

Ta'a Chume then quickly swiped her left hand in front of Kriza's face, using the Force to make her fall unconscious. After the young human female fell limb, closing her eyes, the Queen Mother signaled her large cyborg officer, who immediately picked up Kriza's body, and started to carry her in his arms.

"Good... now that we're done with this, I want to return to the ship. Make sure to let the fleet know, that we're leaving Tanaab immediately after finishing off the Republic forces..." The Queen Mother ordered, to which Draco nodded his head.

"Is Onderon still our next target?" The cyborg asked, carrying Kriza's body. His liege hummed quietly, and nodded in response, placing her lightsaber on her waist.

"Yes... we have to destroy their military bases, in order to strike a major blow against the Republic operations in the Mid Rim. Make sure to tell that to the fleet admirals and captains as well, Draco..." She replied, picking up Kriza's lightsaber from the ground.

As her cyborg officer nodded in acknowledgment, Ta'a Chume took a quick look around. She hummed quietly, as she glanced at clone captain Spades' dead body, after which she placed Kriza's lightsaber hilt on her waist.

The Queen Mother then walked out of the cave, motioning her guardsmen to come with her. The group then began to make their way out of the thick forest, and back to the now destroyed and ransacked Republic FOB, from where they'd get back to the Hapan battle fleet, which was located in Tanaab's orbit, and lower atmosphere.

 **...**

The echoing sounds of lightsaber blades clashing at each other, filled the sarcophagus chamber of Darth Cognus' tomb. Barriss Offee panted slightly, finding some difficulty with blocking every attack, that the Shadow Guard pressed on her, expertly using their lightsaber spears. She hadn't been able to make much progress, her offense having been stopped by the guardsmen like a brick wall.

The young mirialan woman jumped back, dodging one of the guards' attacks. She took a deep breath, trying to center her being, and regain her focus. The Shadow Guard took a step back as well, swinging their long weapons around.

As Barriss exhaled long, one of the black armored guards suddenly lunged at her, attempting to stab her with the lightsaber pike. The young woman reacted quickly, smashing her lightsaber blade at the pike, making it miss her. Barriss spun around, dodging around the guardsman.

She then immediately attacked the other guard, who attempted to block her attack with his pike. Barriss slashed the lightsaber pike, cutting it in half. She then extended her left hand, pushing the guard back with the Force. The armored man flew through the air, hitting the back wall off the chamber hard, and falling to the ground afterwards.

As Barriss turned around, panting heavily, the other guardsman turned as well. The man immediately tried to stab her again, hoping that the young woman would be distracted at the moment. The woman however had seen that coming, and quickly dodged the blade, and grabbed the pike with her left hand.

Barriss pulled the guardsman at her, tightly holding his pike. She pointed her lightsaber blade at him, as she pulled him towards her. The blade pierced the guard's chest, going through his black armor, and his skin under it. Barriss drove her lightsaber deeply through the Shadow Guard, killing him quickly.

She pulled her lightsaber out of the guard, letting him fall on the ground. Barriss then grabbed the lightsaber pike, and activated it. For good measure, the mirialan impaled the dying guardsman with the pike, finishing him off.

After that, Barriss turned around, throwing the lightsaber pike away. She had survived yet another one of Darth Sidious' deadly tests. The young woman breathed heavily, calming herself, as she looked at her Sith Master, who silently stood several meters away from her.

As she walked towards the human Sith Lord, Barriss could notice the guardsman she immobilized before, grunting, and trying to get up from the ground. Lord Sidious nonchalantly raised his hand, which lifted the guard up, choking him through the Force. The human Sith Lord simply squeezed his hand, crushing the guard's neck, and killing him, after which his limb body fell to the ground once again.

Barriss deactivated her new lightsaber, and placed it on her waist. She knelt down, as she got to the Sith Lord, bowing her head. Tears of sweat rolled down her forehead and back, as the battle had been slightly exhausting for her.

"Anything else I can do for you... my master?" She asked, calming down, though still breathing a bit heavy. Lord Sidious hummed quietly, looking upon his young acolyte.

"Excellent work, Barriss. You are powerful in the Force... and the Dark Side flows strongly through you..." The human man said, his voice low, and menacing. Barriss let out a quiet breath, bowing her head more.

"With your guidance... I can become more powerful than ever. I can become stronger than any Sith apprentice you've ever had... even stronger than Dooku.." The young woman assured, which made the elder Sith Lord scoff quietly.

"There's no doubt that you can become a powerful Sith Lord. But don't think I didn't hear about Sora Bulq defeating you on Yavin 4..." Sidious replied, which made the young mirialan female's eyes widen, and her heart pound in her chest.

"I... I assure you, master.. that Bulq will not defeat me again. I will destroy him, and Dooku.. if you only let me..." Barriss said quickly, her heart beating fast. Her Sith Master hummed quietly, stroking his wrinkled chin.

"Yes... yes you shall, in due time. As you remember; there can only be two... so as long as Darth Tyranus lives.. you cannot become a Sith.." Lord Sidious explained, which made Barriss bite her lip.

"With your permission.. I will find a way to kill him, and Bulq..." She answered, to which the Sith Lord lifted his hand up.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Barriss... we still have use for both Tyranus, and Bulq. But when the time is right... we will deal with them.." Sidious assured, which made his young acolyte bite her lip again, and bow.

"O-of course, master... whatever you command..." Barriss replied, humbly bowing her head. After that, Sidious motioned her to stand up, which she did a moment later.

"You are now my full fledged apprentice, Barriss Offee. You are not a Sith yet.. but you have proven your skill and resolve to me, and as such, I will train you to become the greatest female Sith Lord since Darth Zannah..." The elder human declared, which made his new apprentice's heart skip a beat. Barriss smiled, and bowed her head again.

"Thank you, my master... thank you.." She said, letting out a relieved sigh. Darth Sidious grinned slightly, and placed his hand on the mirialan woman's shoulder.

"Come... let us return to Coruscant. We will discuss our next moves there.." He said with a smile, and a nod. Barriss bit her lip, and nodded in acknowledgment.

"I'm at your service, master... lead the way.." She answered, looking at her human Sith Master, who silently turned around, and began to head out of the sarcophagus chamber.

As they left, Barriss quickly glance at the death Shadow Guard lying on the dusty floor. She bit her lip, and swallowed audibly. The young woman then followed her master out of the chamber, as they started to head towards the tomb's entrance, and back out to the harsh surface of Korriban.

 **...**

Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Saesee Tiin, along with their colleagues Mace Windu and Yoda, walked along the long hallway next to a large star destroyer landing pad in the main dry-dock area of Coruscant. Hundreds of star destroyers, cruisers, and other warships were landed here, where they could be repaired, refitted, and prepared for new assignments and battles.

The four Jedi Masters arrived to the boarding gate, from which Obi-Wan and Master Tiin could board the Venator-class star destroyer Vigilance. The human and iktotchi Jedi Masters were departing to Utapau; where the Confederacy's Supreme Commander General Grievous was supposedly located at.

"Reconnaissance reports say that the Separatists have a massive army deployed on Utapau. The droid army is assumed to be over 20 000 in strength. No reports about their fleet posted around the orbit.. but you should expect stiff resistance..." Master Windu explained, folding his arms. Obi-Wan stroked his bearded chin, humming quietly.

"I suggest that I head to the planet first, alone. Master Tiin's fleet could then engage the Separatists forces in space.. distracting the droids. Once I locate General Grievous, Cody can come in with the ground forces." He suggested, to which the iktotchi Jedi Master nodded his head.

"A sound plan, Obi-Wan. With luck, I will be able to take out the droid fleet rather quickly, so that I can also join in with the ground attack." Master Tiin replied in his calm, deep voice. Master Yoda, floating around in his repulsorlift seat, hummed in his raspy voice.

"Eliminate General Grievous, you must, Obi-Wan. Take out the Confederacy, quickly we should; now that war with the Hutts has started..." The little green Jedi Master noted. That made Obi-Wan nod, and sigh.

"It's like this war has lasted for a decade. And now that the Separatists are close to defeat, the Chancellor declares war on the Hutt Cartels..." The human Jedi said quietly, shaking his head. Master Windu nodded in agreement, his arms still folded.

"It is unfortunate.. but the best we can do now, is to aid the Republic to victory, in both wars. That way, we can bring peace and stability to the Galaxy sooner." The Korun human Jedi Master stated.

"Let's hope that the Chancellor steps down, after the wars have been won. We have to be on the side of democracy first... and not a single Supreme Chancellor.." Obi-Wan replied, now folding his arms as well. Master Yoda nodded, and put his hand up.

"Do that, we will, Obi-Wan. But for now... aiding the Republic win the war, our best option is.." He said, to which Obi-Wan sighed, and nodded. After a moment, the bearded human Jedi Master bit his lip, and scratched the back of his head.

"When Master Vos and Secura find Anakin... do you have any plans for him?" He asked, rubbing his neck. Master Windu was quiet for a moment, before humming slightly.

"Well... for starters, we'll have to have a good talk with him, regarding the Battle of Muunilinst.. and his encounter with Grievous." The dark skinned human man said, which made Obi-Wan sigh quietly.

"I know that Anakin is reckless... but he is a good Jedi. I know that he's expecting to rise up to the rank of a Master soon..." He explained, to which Master Windu shook his head.

"His actions on Muunilinst caused the death of Huon Deretius... Anakin can't become a Jedi Master, when his reckless actions caused the death of one of our own.." The man replied, his arms folded. Master Yoda hummed quietly, and nodded.

"Talk with him, we must. Potential, the young Skywalker has... but his recklessness, and emotions... dangerous they make him.." The Jedi Master answered, leaning back on his floating chair. Obi-Wan bit his lip, and nodded, sighing again.

"I know... but we can trust Anakin. He's not a danger to us, if we continue to just.. trust him. I know that he feels that we don't have his best interests in mind..." He answered, to which Master Windu and Yoda quickly glanced at each other.

"His best interests, in mind we have. But change he has to, before a Jedi Master, we can make of him.." Yoda stated, to which Mace Windu nodded his head.

"We can't let him get too frustrated with us... but we also can't let him go about unchecked. He's quite possibly the strongest Jedi in existence... and that kind of power can be destructive to us.. if he were to turn against the Jedi Order..." The Korun human noted, which made Obi-Wan raise his eyebrows.

"But Anakin **is** the Chosen One. He's supposed to destroy the Sith, and bring balance to the Force..." He stated, which made Master Yoda fall silent for a moment, before sighing quietly.

"The prophecy... wrongly interpreted may be..." The green skinned Jedi said quietly. Obi-Wan's eyes widened, and his hear skipped a beat.

The 38 year old human Jedi Master had had his suspicions and worries about his former apprentice, but he couldn't even begin to believe, that Anakin would betray the Jedi Order, and turn against them.

"I won't believe that, master... Anakin would never betray me, betray us... he'll fulfill the prophecy.. he has to..." He assured, which made the Grand Master of the Jedi Order sigh quietly.

"I hope you are correct..." Master Yoda replied quietly. Master Windu nodded in agreement.

"Once Anakin has been brought back to the Temple, we'll discuss what to do with him then.." He declared, to which Obi-Wan silently nodded his head in understanding.

After a short moment, the clone marshal commander Cody, Obi-Wan's second-in-command, walked up the boarding tunnel to the Vigilance. The clone held his helmet in his hands, and walked up to the four Jedi Masters.

"General; we're ready for departure." Cody said to Obi-Wan, who smiled, and nodded.

"Roger that, Cody... I'll see you aboard." He said to the clone, who nodded in acknowledgment.

Cody then slightly bowed to the other Jedi Masters, before putting his helmet back on, and walking down the tunnel back to the star destroyer. Obi-Wan and Master Tiin then turned to Master Windu and Yoda, bowing their heads to them.

"May the Force be with you both." Master Windu said with a smile, and a bow.

Obi-Wan and his iktotchi colleague then turned around, and began to walk down the tunnel to board the star destroyer. Master Windu and Yoda stood around, watching their fellow Council members leave.

The two of them stayed for several minutes more, watching the star destroyer Vigilance, as well as many other Venator-class star destroyers leave the dry-dock. Several other Republic warships also left, making the fleet departing to Utapau a large one.

The travel to the arid world of Utapau would take around two days, after which Obi-Wan would take part in arguably the most important battle in the entire war. If they'd succeed in capturing, or killing General Grievous, it would cripple the entire Separatist war machine, and bring their war efforts to a halt. After Grievous' death, the rest of the Confederacy would fall in no time, especially if the Chiss Ascendancy invaded the core Separatist worlds, like they had planned.


	8. Chapter 7: Bread and Games

**Chapter 7: Bread and Games**

 **A year and seven months earlier...**

The glaring sun shined on Ahsoka's face, drying up her skin. The young togruta was sitting inside a small cage, her legs crossed, as she silently meditated. The cage she was locked in, hung over nearly hundred meters above the ground, being attached to a hook on a tall building's wall.

She was on _Zygerria_ ; a tropical terrestrial planet on the Outer Rim Territories. Zygerria was the home to the near-human _felinoids_ , the _zygerrians_. Centuries ago, zygerrians governed over the largest "slave empire" in the Galaxy, even larger than the slave trade possessed by the Hutt Cartels.

Around three hundred years ago, the Jedi Order and the Republic waged a successful war against the zygerrians, which crippled their slave trade, and brought the once wealthy Zygerrian Empire to its heels. The zygerrians had never recovered from that war, and their slave trade had been easily outplayed by the Hutts' own slave rings. Because of this, the zygerrians held extreme hatred for the Republic, and especially the Jedi, who were the ones to initiate the conflict against the slave empire.

Ahsoka had arrived on Zygerria two days ago, with her master Anakin, as well Obi-Wan, and clone captain Rex. The four of them were sent to the planet to locate the captured togruta colonists from _Kiros_ ; a small and peaceful society, which the Separatists had captured, and given to the zygerrian slavers.

The young togruta had played the role of a recently captured slave, disguised as a young togruta noble. She wore an expensive light blue outfit, and a bunch of jewelry, making her look the part of a prestigious captive. Anakin had played the part of her captor; a young and brash slaver. Obi-Wan and Rex had gone undercover as fellow slavers, attempting to locate the captured colonists.

Ahsoka and her master had successfully gotten an audience with Zygerria's Queen; _Miraj Scintel_ , to whom Anakin had presented his young apprentice as a new servant. The ruse had worked, especially after the young human man had prevented an assassination attempt on the queen.

As Ahsoka had become the queen's servant, Anakin had swayed her with his wits and charm, succeeding in winning over the zygerrian woman's interest. While her master flirted and seduced the queen, Ahsoka had tried her best to keep her focus up, and maintain her cover.

A day earlier, the queen had taken her and Anakin to a public flogging of newly captured slaves. To their dismay, Ahsoka and Anakin had realized, that the slave facing the punishment was Obi-Wan, who had been captured during a failed attempt to save the governor of the enslaved togruta colonists.

Queen Miraj had ordered Anakin to do the flogging himself, in an effort to prove his allegiance to the slavers. The young Jedi Knight had complied, but turned on the queen and her zygerrian guards after getting to his former Jedi Master. He and Obi-Wan had managed to fight off the zygerrians for a moment, with the help of captain Rex, before being overwhelmed by the slavers. Ahsoka herself had attempted to attack the queen, but was easily defeated by the zygerrian woman, who had already fitted a slaving shock collar on the togruta girl's neck.

Obi-Wan and Rex had been taken captive, and sent to an undisclosed location. Ahsoka was placed inside the very cage she was now sitting in, while Anakin had been taken to the queen, who had gotten only more enamored with him. If her master couldn't change the situation to the better, Ahsoka was facing a miserable life as a personal pet to one of Queen Miraj's aides. Who knows what horrible things her possible future zygerrian master would force her to do.

Ahsoka's meditation was interrupted, as she heard the sound of someone leaping through the air near her. The togruta girl opened her eyes, and could notice her human Jedi Master jumping high in the air with the help of the Force. As Anakin landed on the balcony behind Ahsoka, R2 chirped happily, as he flew through the air with his small thrusters, and landed next to his human owner.

"How's it hanging, Snips?" Anakin asked with a smirk, as he walked behind his Padawan's cage. Ahsoka raised her eyebrow, before rolling her eyes.

"That was the worst pun I've heard from you yet, Skyguy..." She answered, to which her master laughed, before using the Force to lift her cage up, and levitate it towards the balcony.

Ahsoka smiled, as she looked at the human man, who was focused in using the Force. Anakin gently placed the cage down on the floor, and opened the door to it, ripping off the lock. As his Padawan crawled out of the crammed cage, the human Jedi's smile faded.

"You okay..? They... they didn't hurt you, right?" He asked quietly, looking at his apprentice as she crushed the shock collar on her neck with the Force.

"Aside from being shocked a few times, I'm alright..." Ahsoka answered. Immediately after she got fully up, Anakin pulled her in for a tight embrace, which surprised the togruta girl.

"I'm so sorry I let this happen to you..." The human Jedi Knight said, tightly hugging Ahsoka, who bit her lip, and embraced him back. After a second, she parted slightly from him, and looked him into his eyes.

"Hey.. it's okay, Ani... you know I'm tougher than I look.." She said quietly, a slight smile on her face. Anakin sighed quietly, and touched her cheek with his gloved hand.

"I know... but I still don't want you to be in a situation like this. I shouldn't have ordered you to attack the queen.. it only worsened things..." He answered, regret clear in his face. Ahsoka smiled, and touched her master's hand with her own.

"Well... at least we can now turn this to our advantage. Where's the queen..? I've sensed a disturbance in the Force.." She then asked, to which her master sighed, parting away from her more.

"It's Dooku... he's come to meet Queen Miraj. I sense that he has something sinister in mind, so I have to get back to her..." Anakin replied, which made his togruta Padawan frown slightly.

"Why? Don't tell me you've grown to like her..." Ahsoka said with a slight frown. Seeing Anakin flirt with Queen Miraj before had certainly gotten her a bit jealous, no matter that it was necessary.

"Oh believe me, Ahsoka.. if I didn't need something from her, I'd kill her myself. But we need to find out, where Obi-Wan and Rex are being held, as well as the togruta colonists. The queen knows this, and I need to hear it from her..." The human Jedi explained, to which Ahsoka bit her lip, and nodded, sighing quietly.

"Yeah... you're right. What do you want me to do?" She asked, fiddling with the silka bead braids on the side of her head. Her master quickly looked around, before taking out her lightsabers, and giving them to her.

"I need you and R2 to get to the ship, and lift off. I'll be right behind you... I just need to get the information from the queen.." Anakin ordered, to which his apprentice nodded her head, taking the lightsabers, and placing them on her belt.

"Got it." Ahsoka replied simply, looking at her master again. Anakin's eyes then wandered up and down his Padawan's body, bringing a slight smirk on his face.

"You know... I never got the chance to tell you, that you look absolutely gorgeous in that outfit.." The human Jedi said with a smirk, staring at his beautiful apprentice. That made Ahsoka smile, and blush slightly, as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you like it... I think I nailed the 'beautiful princess' look quite well.." She answered with a chuckle, posing a little for her master, who chuckled as well.

"You most certainly did, sweetheart.." Anakin said with a wink. That made Ahsoka bit her lip for a moment.

"I was beginning to worry, that the queen actually had caught your eye, Anakin.." She said, placing her hand on her waist. Anakin raised his eyebrows to that.

"What? Seriously? Please, Ahsoka... you're the only girl in my life.. no need for you to get worried." He answered with a laugh, which made his togruta apprentice and lover chuckle slightly.

"Well, a girl can never be too careful.." Ahsoka said with a sweet smile, to which Anakin nodded his head. The human Jedi Knight then looked around for a second, before clasping his hands together.

"Okay... I should go now. Dooku must already be with the queen, so I need to hurry..." He said, turning around. Ahsoka grabbed his arms however, stopping him.

"Wait a second, Skyguy.." She said quietly, getting her master's attention.

As Anakin turned around, Ahsoka pulled him close, pressing her lips against his. The human Jedi chuckled, pressing himself tighter against her, returning the kiss wholeheartedly. After a moment, the two lovers then parted, though still holding one another in each other's arms.

"For luck..." Ahsoka whispered, smiling widely. Her master chuckled, and nodded.

"Thanks, beautiful.." He replied, before parting away from her completely.

"You'd better go now... I'll see you soon, Snips." Anakin then said, before quickly coming in, and giving a small kiss on the tip of Ahsoka's nose.

The young human man then turned around, and quickly made his way off the balcony, and towards the Queen's Palace. Ahsoka looked after him, sighing in happiness as she stared at her leaving romantic partner. After a moment, and after Anakin had left, the young togruta then turned to the small astromech droid.

"Come on, Artooie.. let's get back to the ship!" She said in a cheery voice, to which R2-D2 answered with happy chirps.

The two of them then made their way off the balcony as well, though heading towards the docking bay area nearby, which were in the complete other direction compared to the Palace. Ahsoka hoped that their ship would still be there, and not have been confiscated by the zygerrians.

She also wished that her master would join her and R2 soon, and be unharmed, so that they could then focus on helping Obi-Wan, Rex, and the missing togruta colonists. Dooku being on Zygerria worried her, but Ahsoka knew that Anakin had faced him plenty of times before. Still, it did give her some worrisome thoughts, and make her heart beat faster.

If all would go well, they'd be on their way to their captured friends in no time. If things would go bad, then they'd be either killed, or face the miserable slavery for the rest of their rather short lives...

 **Present day...**

The quiet space around the planet of Utapau, had its silence broken, when an Eta-2-class light interceptor jumped into the planetary system, being attached to a _Syliure-45_ hyperdrive module, which allowed the small starfighter to travel in hyperspace, as it was too small to own a hyperdrive of its own.

The red and whitish grey colored starfighter was flown by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The human Jedi leaned back on his pilot's seat, taking the fighter's controls. The ship detached itself from the hyperdrive module ring, after which Obi-Wan powered up the fighter's engines, and began to fly it towards the arid planet.

As he flew the ship towards Utapau, the human Jedi Master turned to look at the red colored astromech droid, that sat in his fighter's droid socket.

"R4, patch me in with Master Tiin." He said to his droid companion R4-P17, who had faithfully served him for nearly four years. The small droid chirped in response, her dome head spinning once. After a second, Master Saesee Tiin's hologram appeared on the projector in the cockpit.

"Master Tiin; I'm approaching Utapau as we speak.." Obi-Wan explained to the iktotchi Jedi, who smiled and nodded.

"Roger that. Can you see any of the Separatist naval forces around the planet's orbit?" Master Tiin asked, his arms folded.

Obi-Wan then looked up, squinting his eyes, as he attempted to spot any Confederacy warships in Utapau's orbit. R4 could see, that her master was having difficulties, and chirped in response, firing up the ship's scanners. Obi-Wan smiled, as he enjoyed his droid taking the initiative, without him ordering her. A few seconds later, the scanner's readings came through, and the human Jedi looked at them.

"Looks like the droids have a small blockage in the orbit; one _Lucrehulk-class_ battleship, along with four Munificent-class frigates, and one Recusant-class destroyer.." He then said to his Jedi colleague, who stroked his chin.

"Understood; we'll be arriving in the system in an hour. Get to the surface, and avoid detection... no need for you to draw out their fire, when reinforcements can aid you." Master Tiin replied with a chuckle, to which his Jedi Council member colleague nodded his head.

"As you wish. I'll attempt to locate General Grievous, once I'm on the ground... we can't let him escape this time.." Obi-Wan noted, which made the iktotchi master hum, and nod.

"Agreed... but be careful, Obi-Wan. I will join you on the surface, once I've dealt with the droid fleet. May the Force be with you... and good hunting.." Master Tiin said, before ending transmission with Obi-Wan.

After that, the near middle aged human Jedi sighed, leaning back on his seat. He stroked his bushy beard, calmly steering his fighter towards the planet's surface. R4 chirped quietly, talking to his master. That made him chuckle.

"Don't worry, R4... I'll set us down somewhere remote, where Grievous won't find you.." Obi-Wan said with a laugh. R4 beeped in a low voice, before chirping in a sarcastic way.

"I'm sure you would, R4... no Separatist droid is match for you.." Her master replied, playing along, and chuckling.

While Obi-Wan had never shared the same kind of familiarity and companionship with his droids, like his former Padawan Anakin did, he still had always respected them, and though that they were important in the Galactic society.

Still, he had sometimes gotten into arguments with Anakin, when his apprentice showed deep attachment to his droids, especially R2-D2, whom the young Jedi Knight treated like a living being, a person.

Obi-Wan then continued to fly towards Utapau's orbit, and surface. He'd travel to the planet's capital city in the following moments, and attempt to locate General Grievous. When Master Tiin and the clone reinforcements would arrive, the cyborg general could attempt to escape, and that was something that Obi-Wan was not letting to happen.

 **...**

The sounds of laughter and carousing filled the air in the _7-Gee Lounge_ cantina, inside the _Mos Espa Grand Arena_. Anakin and Ahsoka, being flanked by R2-D2, entered the small cantina's premises. The human man soon noticed his former toydarian owner sitting at one table, waiting for them.

The two of them then walked to the table, sitting down opposite to Watto, who was going over a datapad in his hands. Anakin placed his elbow on the table, looking at the toydarian.

"Everything ready, Watto?" He asked the toydarian, who grunted in response, nodding.

"Yeah.. the droids are putting the racer together on the track. The race will start in an hour, so you'd better be ready.." Watto answered, putting down the datapad. The human man chuckled, and leaned back on his seat.

"Oh I will be ready, Watto... they'll never know what hit 'em.." He answered with a confident smirk. Ahsoka bit her lip, and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Anakin.. are you absolutely sure you can pull this off...?" She asked him, slightly worried.

Before Anakin could answer, the loud grunt of someone sitting near them caught the trio's attention. The human man turned around, and noticed a _veknoid_ man sitting at a table nearby, drunkenly raising his glass.

"Anakin? I once knew a kid named Anakin... what a bright fellow... and fast with a podracer..." The male veknoid said, before hiccupping, and looking around in a sluggish way. As Ahsoka raised her brows, Anakin scoffed quietly.

"Teemto Pagalies.. with a drink in his hand... what a surprise.." The human man said in a sarcastic way.

 _Teemto Pagalies_ was a famous veknoid podracer, having raced for years upon years. Infamously a drunkard, Teemto had sometimes even raced under the influence of alcohol, endangering himself, and many others in the process.

The veknoid man had thought warmly of Anakin, when he was a young slave boy living in Tatooine. Teemto had offered advice and suggestions to him, when he raced in various podraces prior to the Boonta Eve Classic event 13 years ago. Even though he had liked Anakin, it had not stopped Teemto from attempting to make the young buy crash during the race, where Anakin had secured his freedom through winning. The veknoid man's plan had backfired though, as Tusken Raiders camped at one of the canyons on the race track, had fired upon his podracer, and caused him to crash.

"Is he going to participate in the race? He's definitely not eligible... being drunk like always.." Anakin asked Watto, looking at the drunken veknoid man nearby. The toydarian shopkeeper shook his head.

"Nah.. Pagalies retired around a year ago; his legs and arms were badly broken in a crash on _Malastare_... hasn't raced ever since then." Watto answered, to which his former slave scoffed quietly.

"Guess all he does now is drink his problems away, hm? Well... good thing he doesn't seem to recognize me." Anakin said, giving a final glance to the veknoid man, who gulped down his _Juri juice_ drink, which was a strong alcoholic cocktail.

"You'll still have to wear this, in case that Sebulba and Hekula come talk to you. They will recognize Anakin Skywalker, believe me..." Watto replied handing him over some protective headgear, and goggles, that would effectively cover his face, and hide his identity. The human man took the clothing, a smirk on his face.

"Let them come... I'll beat them at their own game again, just like I did twice before.." He answered confidently, which made the toydarian scoff.

"Don't be so sure, boy... they both have fast and powerful racers, and I don't know if you can catch up to them, even with the booster..." Watto noted, but his business partner chuckled, and waved him off.

"You said the same thing thirteen years ago, and look what happened. I'll win this thing, Watto... you can count on that.." Anakin assured with a smirk, and a wink. His former toydarian owner hummed quietly, stroking his bearded chin.

"Well.. just be ready to go in an hour... I'll prepare the racer for you, and get the wagers going. I'm putting everything on the line with this, Anakin... so don't screw this up for us.." Watto replied, before his wings started flapping, making him float in the air.

As the toydarian slowly flew out of the bar, Anakin turned his attention to Ahsoka, who silently patted the metallic dome head of R2, a smile on her face. The young human man touched her other hand with his own, which made her look at him.

"You feeling alright, my love?" Anakin asked with a warm smile, squeezing the young togruta's hand. Ahsoka looked into his eyes, a quiet sigh escaping her lips.

"I'm just a bit worried, Ani... I don't want you to get hurt in this race.." She answered quietly, biting her lip. The human man smiled, and rubbed his thumb on her hand.

"Don't worry, Soka... I'll be just fine; I've done this many times before. You and R2 just sit back, and watch the show, okay?" He said with a smile, which made his togruta lover sigh, and smile slightly as well.

"Okay... if you're absolutely sure.." Ahsoka said very quietly, looking into Anakin's eyes. That made the young man chuckle, and nod.

"That's my girl. Give me a kiss.." He answered, smirking slightly. Ahsoka's eyes widened slightly, and she blushed. She then let out a quiet laugh, before giving her human boyfriend a quick kiss on his lips.

After that, the two of them stared each other in the eyes, smiling. Anakin gently touched Ahsoka's cheek, which made her lean slightly on his hand. Their tender moment was cut short by the drunken grunts of Teemto Pagalies, who stood up, and had his arms spread wide.

"Everyone have a drink on me! We're here to watch some quality podracing, damn it! And I was a podracer before.. I have the money! So come on, bartender! Give the people what they want!" The veknoid man shouted loudly, being completely intoxicated. The people in the cantina all cheered, raising their glasses. Anakin chuckled slightly, placing his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.

"It would be best for us to leave now... I know that a fight is going down sooner or later..." The human man said with a chuckle. Ahsoka bit her lip, and nodded.

"Alright... let's go.." She answered, getting up from her seat, with Anakin doing the same.

The two of them then left the 7-Gee Lounge, R2 following them. As they left, the cantina became more rowdy and loud, as the retired drunkard podracer bought all the patrons more drinks, sinking his remaining fortune to carousing and partying, instead of trying to make his life better.

Near the entrance to the cantina, a _glymphid_ man leaned on the wall, silently staring at Anakin and Ahsoka, as they walked out of the bar. The short and slender built alien had his arms folded, his face frowning slightly, as he looked at the human man, who didn't notice him. After the two had left, the glymphid man stood straighter, and left the cantina as well, silently following Anakin and Ahsoka.

 **...**

The sound of a door sliding open made Kriza Willsaam jump slightly, and open her eyes as she woke up. The young human woman's mouth felt dry, and her muscles were aching. She was hanging on a wall, her hands being hooked on ray shielded cuffs. She had been brought on the Hapan Queen Mother's personal Battle Dragon a few hours earlier, having been taken captive on Tanaab, after the Hapan forces had eliminated the Republic defenders of the planet.

The young woman looked up, seeing the hapan female, Ta'a Chume, walking in; a warm smile on her face. The Queen Mother was flanked by two guardsmen, wielding ceremonial spears as their weapons. Ta'a Chume quickly glanced at her guards, waving her hand slightly.

"Leave us.." She said simply, after which the guards bowed to her, and stepped out of the cell. Kriza silently stared at the Queen Mother, who turned back around after the door closed.

"Now... how are you feeling, dear?" Ta'a Chume asked, walking over to the imprisoned girl, and touched her face, as in inspecting her for any damages. Kriza let out a quiet cough.

"I'm a bit thirsty..." She replied quietly in a raspy voice. The hapan woman hummed quietly, her eyes scanning the human Jedi in front of her.

"I'll get you water soon.. but first, I want to talk to you about something..." Ta'a Chume answered, starting to pace around in the small room. Kriza sighed quietly, looking down on the floor.

"You want to know about my 'gift'.. right?" She asked, knowing all too well, how valuable she could be as a hostage. The Hapan Queen Mother chuckled slightly, nodding.

"Oh yes, young Kriza... I know about your powers. I want you to use them on me... right now, right here.." The woman said, looking at the young Jedi again, who stared at her.

Kriza, like many before her in her bloodline, possessed the extremely rare ability to sense a person's true allegiances and feelings, as well as character traits through the Force. A rare version of the _Force sight_ ability, this power was extremely effective, when used to identify spies, or other people whose allegiances and loyalties were left ambiguous.

Kriza had been trained to become a _Jedi investigator_ , after her tutelage under Agen Kolar would have come to its end. Her abilities would have been put to use in helping Coruscant's law enforcement, when their own investigators could not get the job done without aid. Other than that, Kriza would have become a prestigious Jedi Knight, travelling all across the Galaxy in search of ancient knowledge and secrets, working alongside _Jedi Sages_ and _Consulars_. All of those plans had been ruined by her being captured, and her master being killed by Ta'a Chume of Hapes.

"I'm not exactly concentrated right now..." Kriza answered quietly, feeling weak. The hapan woman in front of her hummed quietly, stroking her chin.

"Then concentrate, girl... I want to see it for myself.." Ta'a Chume insisted, which made her young captive sigh long.

Kriza looked up, staring at the hapan woman, and taking a deep breath. She then frowned slightly, concentrating her mind, and focusing in on Ta'a Chume. The young Jedi managed to center herself, and soon enough, she began to see the hapan woman's thoughts in her mind.

"You... you love your people.. but you also still love the Jedi. The Order was your family for all of your life, and even though you've been the Queen Mother for years.. you still have not forgotten your friends in the Jedi Order..." She said quietly, reading Ta'a Chume's thoughts, being able to see every little thing buried deep inside the hapan woman's mind. Ta'a Chume silently listened to her, as she continued.

"You still feel hatred for your mother... you.. murdered her for betraying your trust. You don't agree with the Republic's policies, which is why you're attacking them... however.. you wouldn't want to fight your old Jedi friends..." Kriza continued, which made the Queen Mother raise her eyebrows, and hum quietly, as she folded her arms.

"But still... you will kill your former comrades, if it means that you'll bring your enemies to justice..." She finished quietly, to which the hapan woman hummed quietly, nodding her head.

"Impressive, Kriza.." She said with a slight smirk. Kriza stared at her for a few moments still, silently reading her.

"That's not all; you found killing my master to be exhilarating in a way.. yet you wish it hadn't come to that. You're afraid that your ability in Battle Meditation will not be enough to destroy the Republic and Separatist forces. You also fear that the Dark Side will completely take you over... which is something you've feared for years..." The young woman then said, which made the hapan Queen Mother raise her eyebrows.

"You also sometimes find it difficult to let go of the Jedi Code, which you were raised to believe in for all your life. You wonder often whether you can ever have children, out of the fear that you'd break the sacred principles you've held for so many years. You still haven't married, which has caused worry among your people..." Kriza continued, to which Ta'a Chume hummed quietly, folding her arms.

"Well, aren't you a bright girl, my dear... I'm impressed.." The hapan female answered with a slight smirk. Kriza sighed, and looked down again.

"So... what happens to me now? You'll have me executed, right?" The young woman asked quietly, which made her hapan captor chuckle.

"I'm surprised you didn't see that, when you read my mind. But fortunately for you.. I will not have you killed. You're a valuable prisoner, and I may have some use for you at a later date..." The Queen Mother said with a slight smile. Kriza sighed again, looking down on the floor.

"I suppose I'm going to stay locked up here then..." She said quietly to herself, to which the hapan Queen Mother chuckled.

"Oh, don't be sour, young Kriza... we'll have some fun. I'll go get that water for you... so just hang in there. No pun intended.." Ta'a Chume said with a laugh, before walking out of the small room.

After the hapan woman had left, Kriza closed her eyes, sighing deeply. Her entire body was aching, and she felt weaker and weaker with every waking moment. Even if the Queen Mother wouldn't kill her, the young human Jedi doubted, that she'd be released, or given any sort of mercy.

Kriza hoped deeply, that the Republic and the Jedi would soon find out about Ta'a Chume's attacks, and come rescue her. Even though she was powerful, Kriza had no confidence in trying to escape herself, as she was sure, that it would end with her being captured again, or being outright killed.

 **...**

The glass dome of the Eta-2 Actis starfighter's cockpit opened, allowing Obi-Wan Kenobi to climb out, and land his feet on the floor of the small landing pad, that he had flown his fighter on. The human Jedi Master had kept as low profile as he could, and he hoped that he had avoided detection by Separatist forces so far.

A group of _pau'ans_ approached Obi-Wan, wearing traditional pau'an clothing. The pau'ans were the first of the two sentient species native to Utapau, along with the _utai_. While the pau'ans were especially tall in physique and long lived , the utai were short, and lived rather short lives. The utai had committed themselves to pau'an rule centuries ago, in exchange for protection and patronage, and as such, the two races had always lived in peace.

Obi-Wan humbly bowed, as the pau'an group got near him. The leader of the group looked at the Jedi Master, towering over him, as he was over two meters tall.

"Greetings, young Jedi... what brings you to our remote world?" The pau'an man asked, as Obi-Wan finished his bowing.

"The war, I'm afraid. I noticed that a Confederate fleet is stationed in your planet's orbit... and I've heard rumors that General Grievous has made this place his stronghold.." He answered in a calm, diplomatic voice. That made the pau'an dock officer frown deeply, and look around. After a moment, the man got closer to the human Jedi Master, bowing down slightly.

"He is here... the Separatist Council left only a little while ago. We've been held hostage ever since the droids arrived here, around a week ago.." The pau'an said, whispering to Obi-Wan, who listened in closely, and nodded in understanding.

"I see. A Republic fleet will arrive into the system in less than an hour. We'll liberate Utapau, but I suggest that you tell your citizens to stay clear of the fighting... and any warriors you can spare, we'd be glad to take..." He replied quietly, which made the pau'an hum, and nod.

"I will tell my people to prepare. General Grievous is somewhere... but his army is massive; thousands of battle droids on Level 10..." The elder man said, to which Obi-Wan nodded quietly.

"Understood. I wish you the very best, and I hope that we can win the upcoming battle soon. May the Force be with you..." The human Jedi answered, before bowing again to the pau'an, who bowed as well.

After that, the group of pau'ans left, slowly walking away. Obi-Wan walked over to his Eta-2 fighter again, placing his foot on the wing. He came closer to his astromech droid, quickly looking around.

"Stay here, R4... don't move until I come back. With luck, I'll be able to find Grievous before he escapes..." The human man said, to which his faithful droid companion beeped and chirped in response.

After that, Obi-Wan turned around, and began to head towards the inner parts of the large docking level; where the small landing pad was located in. R4 stayed in her socket on the fighter, using the ship's systems to close the glass dome, and looking after his master, who put on his hood, to keep himself as incognito as possible, as he made his way out of the landing area.

 **...**

The massive Grand Arena of Mos Espa was rowdy with thousands of participants sitting in the audience. The race goers showed their loud support for the over dozen podracers, who were all preparing their vehicles for the upcoming race. The announcers were in the middle of introducing the participants in the race, many of them receiving tremendous amounts of cheering.

Anakin was crouched down next to one of his podracer's engines, being in the middle of tightening some bolts with a wrench. Ahsoka and R2 stood nearby, with Watto pacing around, his leathery wings flapping in the air.

"And right there we see the legendary _Dud Bolt_ , who will be attempting to end his losing streak, by catching a big win here today!" One of the announcer voices said through the loudspeakers, which was followed by cheers, and occasional boos.

"Three-time champion _Boles Roor_ has also returned to race, as part of his charity event here on Tatooine." Another one of the announcers explained, which was met with cheers again.

Both Dud Bolt and Boles Roor had been podracers for decades, having participated in the Boonta Eve Classic event thirteen years ago, which Anakin had won. Other podracers from that particular race were now participating as well, such as the _gran Mawhonic_. The _er'kit_ racer _Ody Mandrell_ , along with the _phuii Mars Guo_ , the _nuknog_ _Ark Roose_ , the _xexto Gasgano_ , the glymphid _Aldar Beedo_ , and the _nousarian Clegg Holdfast_ , all were still racing, and were part of this very event. Sebulba and his son Hekula were arguably the favorites for the audience in this race, both having dominated the podracing community for years.

Some newcomers were part of the race as well, all of whom Anakin had never heard about before. He too was a "newcomer", as none of the other racers, or even the audience, had likely ever heard about "Cade Katarn" before.

"No, give it right here... I'll put it in.." Anakin said with a frustrated sigh, to a _DUM-series_ "pit droid", that clumsily attempted to insert a plug in the podracer's engine. The human man took the plug from the droid's hands, and placed it in the engine, tightening it up with the wrench.

"And now, introducing the late entrant to the race! Cade Katarn, from the Bestine system!" The announcer's voice said loudly, followed by slightly confused and unsure cheers, as no one knew who Anakin was supposed to be.

Ahsoka looked around the large area, seeing the over dozen podracers, their pilots all preparing the vehicles for the race, which was bound to start in a few minutes. The togruta girl rubbed her arm, turning to look at her former Jedi Master again, who stood up, and gently patted his podracer's engine.

"Well... it's as ready as it'll ever be. Hopefully that booster you've installed will work, Watto.." Anakin said, wiping his hands off of any oil and dirt. The toydarian shopkeeper grunted in response.

"You'll find that out soon enough, won't you? Just don't get yourself killed, kid... I don't need to lose any more money.." Watto replied, which made his former slave chuckle. Anakin then turned his attention to Ahsoka, who silently looked around, before her eyes met with his.

"You alright, beautiful?" He asked quietly, walking right in front of Ahsoka, who bit her lip, looking straight into his eyes.

"Yeah... just a bit nervous.." She answered, a slight smile on her face, even though her heart was racing. Anakin smiled, and gently touched her cheek.

"I should be the one who's nervous... but don't worry, my sweet; I'll be just fine." He assured with a quiet voice. Ahsoka sighed, and nodded, before looking into his eyes again.

"Just come back in one piece... okay..?" The young togruta whispered, to which her human lover chuckled, and nodded.

"I promise, Soka.." Anakin replied, moving his face closer to Ahsoka's. The two of them softly pressed their lips against each other, kissing for the final time before the race.

As the two of them kissed, Watto seemed to notice something, that startled him. The toydarian quickly flapped his way to Anakin, knocking on his shoulder. The human Jedi parted from his togruta girlfriend, looking at his former slave master with an annoyed expression.

"Put this on, Ani! Sebulba..." The toydarian said quickly, pushing the headgear in Anakin's hands, while pointing at the other direction.

The human turned his head to look towards the direction of the race track, and could see Sebulba, and his son Hekula, slowly walking towards him, and his podracer. Anakin bit his lip, and quickly wrapped the cloths around his head, and put on the goggles, hiding his face. He then turned towards the two dugs, who walked to the small group. Sebulba stared at the human racer in front of him, an unimpressed expression on his face.

"You must be the human pilot I've heard so little about. It isn't every day, that I see a human get to the big leagues... you're usually slow with your reactions, and therefore, less than impressive.." The aged dug podracer said in a raspy voice. Sebulba was speaking in Basic; probably thinking that a human from the Inner Rim couldn't understand Huttese. Anakin scoffed quietly, folding his arms.

"I decided to stay in the minor circuits. But, my buddy Watto here convinced me to join the major league podracing circuit." He answered, patting the toydarian's shoulder. Sebulba hummed quietly, stroking his chin, and looking at Watto.

"Trying to get back some of your old fortune, by betting on another human? Make no mistake, Watto... not a single human has won at Boonta Eve, after that Skywalker whelp..." The dug said to the toydarian, who scratched the back of his head nervously. Anakin chuckled, placing his hand on his waist.

"Well, prepare to be dumbfounded, cause this human from Bestine will win this thing... mark my words.." He assured, which made Sebulba's son laugh out loud, shaking his head.

"In case you haven't noticed, human... I happen to own the fastest podracer ever built! And my father's racer is no slow one either. This piece of junk that Watto probably got from an auction, won't even make it through the first two laps.." Hekula taunted, before pointing at the podracer, that lied at the front of the starting row.

Anakin's heart skipped a beat, as he could see the podracer he had built years ago, now sporting black and red coloration, something completely different from the original version. He could also see the massive podracer, that Sebulba was using. It looked exactly like the vehicle the dug had flown thirteen years ago, only larger, and in dark grey coloration.

The human man then scoffed quietly, folding his arms again. He glanced between the two dugs, finding it hard to not take off his headgear, and reveal his true identity to them.

"No matter what kind of a podracer you have.. I will make you eat the exhaust from mine..." Anakin taunted back, which made the dugs glance at each other. Sebulba chuckled quietly, shaking his head. The older dug then glanced at Ahsoka, another chuckle escaping his lips.

"My... what a pretty togruta slave you have there. Or, is she more than a simple servant to you? I don't suppose that you have many slaves in the Inner Rim..." Sebulba said, looking at Ahsoka with a grin. As the togruta girl took a step back, Anakin stepped in front of her.

"Keep your mind on the race, will ya? I can promise, that this race won't be easy... for either of you.." He assured, to which Hekula scoffed, and nodded.

"Well... let's see if you can back up those words, Katarn. Let's go, father..." The younger, around 25 year old dug said to his father, who hummed quietly, and nodded.

"Hmpf... after this race.. your face will not be the only thing, that's badly burned..." Sebulba threatened, before walking away with his son.

As the dugs walked away, back towards their vehicles, Watto flapped his way in front of Anakin, lifting his finger up.

"Don't get too cocky, Anakin. Those two will be trouble... they always are.." The toydarian man said, to which his former slave could only shrug his shoulders.

"Oh I'm counting on it, Watto. No worries; I know both of their tricks already..." Anakin replied, still looking at the leaving dugs. He then gave a quick glance at Ahsoka, who rubbed her arm. Before he could say anything, the race announcer's voice came through the loudspeakers.

"Attention! Please clear the race track!" The voice ordered, after which the dozens of people on the race track began to clear out, making way for the podracers. Anakin looked at his companions, smiling under his headgear.

"You'd better clear out; don't want you to get hit by anything.." He said to Watto and Ahsoka. The young togruta smiled slightly, and gently touched his arm, before turning to R2, and motioning the little droid to follow her. Watto scratched the back of his head, nodding at his former slave.

"Good luck, Ani..." The toydarian said, before turning around as well, and following Ahsoka and R2 out of the racing track, and towards the observation platforms, and the audience seating superstructure.

Anakin sighed quietly to himself, before turning towards his vehicle, and climbing into the cockpit. The human sat down comfortably, leaning back on the seat. He exhaled long, and put on the harnesses; making sure that he was seated tightly and safely.

"Start! Your! Engines!" The announcer's voice yelled through the loudspeaker, which was followed by overwhelmingly loud cheers from the audience. The race was about to begin.

Anakin smirked slightly, his face covered by the cloths and goggles; he had missed the thrill of podracing. He then quickly flicked many switches on the podracer cockpit's dashboard, as well as pressed a few buttons, in order to prepare the vehicle for ignition, and lift off.

After a moment of flicking on switches, Anakin switched on the energy binders, that coupled the vehicle's engines together. After the electric bindings activated, the human pilot ignited the podracer's engines. The turbines in front of the engine began to turn, increasing in speed at every second. The exhausts of the two engines lit up, fire spitting out of them, as the human pilot revved the accelerator slightly.

The other 18 podracer vehicles on the race track ignited their engines as well, turning on all of their systems. The last of the people on the track quickly ran away, clearing the sandy circuit to make room for the vehicles to move through. The rows of vehicles were now roaring, their powerful engines ready to push them forward, at speeds greater than any regular speeder, or land vehicle.

Ahsoka, R2 and Watto walked to a row of seats, in a small "viewing suite", that the toydarian had reserved for them to use. The togruta girl sat down on a seat, her eyes glued on the race track, where she could see her former master sitting in his vehicle's cockpit. R2 chirped quietly, which caused Ahsoka to look at him. She sighed quietly, nodding, and giving the droid's dome head a small pat.

"I know, Artooie... I'm having second thoughts about this as well.." She said, her worry for Anakin's safety increasing to uncomfortable levels. Watto landed on one of the seats, quietly grunting.

"Anakin is skilled. If any human could pull this off, it's him..." The toydarian shopkeeper assured, which made Ahsoka sigh again, as it didn't lessen her worry much.

Back on the race track, Anakin continued to prepare his podracer, making final adjustments to the engine power, and adding more oil to them; making the jet exhaust spit out more flames. He smirked, and placed his hands tightly around the vehicle's controls, using the throttle to rev the podracer's engines.

As the race track was loud with the sounds of the podracer engines, a distinct beeping noise began. Anakin remembered this noise; it let the racers know, that the race was only seconds away from starting. When the beeping would stop, the first lap would begin. The human man's heartbeat fastened, as the beeping continued. He kept his eyes at the lap indicator screen, that was placed on the arch over the starting line.

After a moment, the beeping stopped, and the holographic screen displayed the sign of the first lap. Immediately following that, the podracer vehicles launched themselves forward, their engines exploding into action.

Anakin felt a strong rush of adrenaline, as he switched off his vehicle's breaks, which launched the podracer forward at an immense speed. The young man bit his lip, his hands tightly around the throttle, and the other handle, steering his vehicle to the left, as he arrived to the very first turn of the track, right after crossing the starting line.

To his surprise, Watto's podracer was handling much better, than he had expected. It also moved faster than he had thought, making him be able to pass three slower moving vehicles right after the first turn. The podracers entered a long straight pass, which led to the nearby canyon complex.

As the podracers flew in the pass, increasing their speed, Anakin managed to pass another vehicle, being piloted by an _aleena_. As he passed the aleena podracer, memories of one of the podracers in the Boonta Eve thirteen years ago, _Ratts Tyerell_ , filled the human Jedi's mind. Tyerell had died in the first lap of the race, colliding with a rock inside a cave system, which the podracers would fly through later in the lap of this race. Anakin doubted, that this new aleena pilot was related to Tyerell, as his family had disowned the podracing business, after Ratts' death.

After passing the aleena pilot, Anakin set his sights on the next podracer in line; the nuknog Ark Roose, who was flying his vehicle in front of him. The human Jedi pilot took a deep breath. The start of the race had gone smoothly, but the was the entirety of the three laps still to go. Anakin held the podracer's controls even tighter, focusing entirely in flying his fast vehicle, making use of the Force, to aid him with his reaction time. This would be an interesting, and exciting race.

 **...**

A door opened inside the Chancellor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center, letting the mirialan Dark Adept Barriss Offee to step into the darkened office of Darth Sidious. As Barriss walked further in, she could notice her Sith Master standing near two hologram projectors, which projected the holographic figures of General Grievous, and a chiss man, wearing a navy officer's uniform.

"Our fleets have moved in to the core Separatist space, and are ready to attack their capital worlds. Raxus will fall soon, Lord Sidious..." The chiss man told, his hands behind his back. The black hooded human Sith Lord smirked, and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Excellent work, Thrawn. Once you invade Raxus, do not show any mercy to the Separatist leadership. If the civilians flee, let them; we need to hold the illusion, that the Chiss Ascendancy does not attack innocents..." Sidious ordered, to which his chiss servant answered with a bow.

"Understood, my lord. We'll destroy the military forces, and execute leaders. I'll contact you, once we've made progress. Admiral Thrawn, out..." He said, before closing transmission with the Sith Lord, his hologram disappearing.

After that, Sidious turned his attention to General Grievous, who had his robotic hands behind his cloaked back as well. Barriss moved in next to her master, who opened his mouth to speak to the cyborg general.

"Has the Separatist Council been moved to our base on Mustafar, General?" The elder human man asked, to which the Confederate Supreme Commander nodded his metallic head.

"Yes, my lord. They're waiting for further orders.." Grievous replied in his usual raspy voice. Darth Sidious grinned, his hands crossed with each other.

"Good.. everything is going as planned..." The human Sith Lord said, his voice calm and collected.

Suddenly, General Grievous' hologram flickered, and sounds of faint explosions could be heard. Sidious frowned, as he heard that, while General Grievous looked around himself.

"What was that?" The Sith Lord then asked. The cyborg general looked around for a moment, before quietly chuckling.

"Looks like the Republic forces have started their invasion. No doubt they've brought thousands of troops, and air support..." Grievous explained, to which his Sith overlord frowned, and hummed quietly.

"They arrived sooner than I expected. Very well; you must retreat, and make your way back to Serenno, General. Leave your forces behind, to cover your retreat..." Sidious ordered, to which Grievous squeezed his hands into fists.

"My lord, I can take care of them myself! I've been itching to kill more clones and Jedi..." He argued, which made the Sith Lord frown deeper, and shake his head.

"You will get your chance soon, Grievous. Now; follow my orders, and go back to Serenno... Lord Tyranus will meet you there.." Sidious said, to which the cyborg sighed, before bowing his head.

"As you say, my lord. I will contact you, after I have arrived on Serenno..." Grievous replied, ending the transmission afterwards. Immediately after that, Sidious turned to his mirialan apprentice, who looked at him expectantly.

"I have a new task for you, apprentice..." He said to Barriss, who bowed her head slightly.

"I'm at your service, master." She replied in a humbled voice. Her Sith Master took a short breath, exhaling long afterwards.

"I need you to travel to Mustafar, and take care of the Separatist Council..." Sidious explained, which caused his apprentice to raise her eyebrows.

"Take... care of them.. my master?" She asked quietly, to which her master frowned.

"Eliminate them; slaughter every single one of them, and leave no survivors..." The Sith Lord specified. Barriss heart skipped a beat, and her eyes widened. She bit her lip, before cautiously bowing.

"It will be done, my lord... they will all die.." She then answered, looking up at her master again. Sidious' expression calmed, and he nodded.

"Good. There's a starfighter waiting for you at the landing pad. Contact me on Mustafar, once you've dealt with _Nute Gunray_ , and the entirety of the Council..." He explained, to which his apprentice nodded quickly.

"Yes, my master. I will head out immediately.." Barriss replied, bowing again quickly, before turning around, and heading out of the office.

As his apprentice left, Lord Sidious turned back towards the windows of the office, and stared out of them. The human Sith Lord grinned silently, before walking over to his desk, and sitting down. He placed his arms of the desk, a slight sigh escaping his lips.

"Soon... I will reach my goals.. and the Galaxy, will be mine.." Sidious said quietly to himself. The human man then looked to his left, staring at a small urn, that was placed on the desk.

"Thank you for bringing me this far, master... too bad that you never saw your plans come to fruition..." He said, a devilish grin on his face, as he looked at the urn.

Sidious then continued to silently sit in his dark office, allowing himself to meditate on the Force, and immerse himself with the Dark Side for a moment. With the Separatists soon gone from the war, he could initiate the next phase of his Grand Plan, and move ever so closer to the destruction of the Jedi, and the subjugation of the Galaxy under Sith rule.

 **...**

The sand under the podracers dusted, flying to the air, as the vehicles moved across the Tatooine desert at immense speed. Anakin's podracer was tailing two other vehicles, moving in closer and closer. They were now flying in the _Jag Crag Gorge_ , having flown half of the first lap.

Anakin had been able to pass four podracers since the start, his position being 14 now. There were still over dozen vehicles to pass, but the young human man was confident of his abilities.

As they entered the _Laguna Caves_ , Anakin was tailing a twi'lek podracer by less than ten meters. The narrow passes in the cave made it difficult to navigate safely, and more than one podracers had been lost to the treacherous rocks and sudden bumps in the cave. It was here that Ratts Tyerell had died thirteen years ago, having been distracted by Anakin's tailing of him.

The Force helped the young human man to fly through the cave safely. As human reaction time was not the fastest, they usually did not participate in podracing, which required near perfect perception, if the racer wanted to avoid destruction, and possible death. Indeed, Anakin would most likely be unable to race, and be successful at it, without the usage of the Force. It allowed him to accurately predict, where obstacles would be, and that helped him avoid crashes.

As they approached the cave's exit, Anakin managed to bring himself next to the twi'lek podracer. The unsuspecting twi'lek had the surprise of his life, as the human pilot flew his podracer past his, just as the two of them exited the cave, and entered the _Canyon_ _Dune Turn_.

Anakin immediately increased his speed, leaving the twi'lek podracer behind, as he steered his vehicle to the left, flying along the long canyon turn. He was now behind the _sneevel_ "celebrity" podracer Boles Roor.

The human Jedi pilot smirked slightly, knowing that Roor wasn't an aggressive driver. He casually steered his podracer to the right, passing by Roor on the outside of the turn. Anakin managed to pass the sneevel pilot easily, coming in front of him, as the turn ended. The young man chuckled slightly, as he stabilized his vehicle.

"This is almost too easy.." He said to himself, before pressing a few buttons, and using the accelerator to increase his speed again.

As he and the other podracers entered the _Bindy Bend_ , which was the final section of the lap, before the final stretch. Anakin was now in the 12th position, speedily approaching his the next few podracers. He could see that they were the er'kit Ody Mandrell, the nousarian Clegg Holdfast, and another podracer, that the young man could not recognize.

Anakin decreased his speed slightly, dodging the small, but dangerous rocks of the Bindy Bend. He narrowed down the distance between him and Ody Mandrell, who also decreased the speed he was flying, in order to avoid the dangerous rocks and bumps.

After a moment, the four podracers exited the Bindy Bend, now entering the final stretch of the lap, before coming back to the Grand Arena. This section was known as the _Hutt Flats_ , and was the best place to pass other podracers, and to push the vehicle's throttle at its limit. Anakin knew this well, and planned on using it as an opportunity to go past Mandrell, and hopefully get right behind Holdfast, so that he could pass him at the start of the second lap.

He'd still have two laps to complete, enough time for him to catch up to Sebulba and Hekula. Anakin knew, that his podracer wasn't the fastest, but he had come sufficiently far already, even without using the booster, that Watto had installed on the vehicle. His chances were good, and the young human knew it, which caused him to smirk.

 **...**

Ahsoka could feel her heart skip a beat, as she saw Anakin's podracer approach the finish line. She and Watto stood up, as their human companion's vehicle flew past them, being right behind another podracer. Anakin had been able to pass Ody Mandrell, and was now tailing Clegg Holdfast.

"Cade Katarn has made amazing progress so far! He's speeding his way towards the lead!" One of the commentator's announced excitedly, as the podracers passed by the Grand Arena. Watto pumped his fist in the air.

"Go Ani! Show them how it's done!" The toydarian cheered, which caused Ahsoka to raise her brows, as she sat back down.

After sitting back down, the young togruta could then suddenly feel something through the Force. Ahsoka frowned slightly, focusing her mind on the sudden feeling. She could feel the presence of someone familiar, which caused her to frown more. Her eyes suddenly widened, as she sensed that the familiar person was standing right behind her.

Ahsoka stood up, and turned around, feeling her heart jumping to her throat, as she could see Jedi Masters Aayla Secura, and Quinlan Vos, standing only a meter or so away from her. The two Jedi looked at her with calm expressions.

"Hello, Ahsoka..." Aayla said quietly, her hands on her waist. Ahsoka's heart was pounding, her eyes as wide as plates.

"Oh, damn it..." She uttered quietly, looking down. The kiffar Jedi Master, Quinlan Vos, folded his arms.

"You know why we're here, young Ahsoka.." The man said with a slight smile. As Ahsoka bit her lip, not knowing what to say, Watto turned around, and frowned, as he saw the two Jedi.

"More Jedi...? What's going on?" The toydarian asked cautiously. Master Vos took a step forward, looking at the shopkeeper.

"We need to have a word with our friend Ahsoka. It'd be best for you to leave..." The kiffar man said, which caused Watto to raise his brows, and look between Ahsoka, and the Jedi. The toydarian then scratched the back of his head, nodding.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm going..." He said, before quickly making his way out of the viewing suite. After Watto had left, the Jedi Masters turned their attention back to Ahsoka, who fiddled with her hands. Aayla sighed quietly, motioning the togruta girl to sit down.

"Come... sit with us, Ahsoka.." The twi'lek woman said, sitting down on one of the chairs in the suite. As Master Vos sat down as well, Ahsoka sighed long, and did the same; sitting down next to the Jedi Masters.

After the togruta girl had sit down, she looked at her former Jedi comrades, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew that she was about to be in trouble with the Jedi, who more than likely knew what she had done. She sighed again, opening her mouth to speak.

"How did you know we were here..?" Ahsoka asked the two Jedi Masters, who quickly glanced at each other.

"As soon as we found out, that a human podracer had entered this event at the last minute, we knew that it had to be Anakin." Vos explained, to which the togruta girl sighed, biting her lip.

"Yeah... I suppose it's a dead giveaway..." She replied, after which Aayla placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Ahsoka... what are you two doing here? Is Anakin trying to win this race, so that he can buy his way off of Tatooine?" The twi'lek Jedi asked, which made Ahsoka's heart skip a beat. She had no idea, whether she should try to lie to the Jedi Masters, or to just tell them the truth.

"Well... uh... we... we planned on using the money to get off Tatooine. More than that, we didn't really discuss..." She replied to the Jedi, who both glanced at each other again. Aayla then frowned slightly, leaning towards Ahsoka.

"Ahsoka, we know that it was you, that disrupted our communication attempts with Anakin. I can sense how distraught you are.. and that you are holding back information from us..." The twi'lek woman said, which made Ahsoka's eyes widen. She should have known, that the Jedi were able to see through her. The young girl began to fiddle with her hands again.

"I... I suppose it's pointless for me to even try to lie to you..." Ahsoka said quietly, looking down at the ground. The twi'lek Jedi Master sighed, and nodded.

"Yes.. you really should just tell us the truth.." Aayla replied, to which the young togruta sighed yet again, still looking at the ground. Before the twi'lek could continue, her kiffar master placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Let's wait for Anakin to return, until we start 'interrogating' them. For now... let's just enjoy the show.." Vos said, leaning back on his seat. Aayla raised her eyebrows, looking at her former master.

"Can you not be serious about this, master?" She asked the kiffar, who smirked, and put his hands behind his head, kicking back and relaxing.

"Later... right now, I want to watch this podrace; been too long, since I watched it the last time.." Vos replied with a chuckle, before falling silent, and looking at the race track, and the video screens, turning his attention to the race.

Aayla rolled her eyes, and shook her head, sighing in slight frustration. The twi'lek Jedi Master conceded though, sitting back as well, and focusing her attention on the race as well.

Ahsoka bit her lip, and turned to R2, and patted his dome head. She calmed her nerves slightly, even though she remained extremely anxious and tense. She had no idea, what the two Jedi Masters would do, once they heard about her and Anakin's plans. Ahsoka doubted, that they'd simply let their finest Jedi Knight to leave, and begin a real relationship with his former Padawan. The young togruta hoped beyond belief, that Aayla and Vos would understand their feelings, and let them go. However, the Jedi had never been known to be flexible.

 **...**

The odd rock formations that made up the _Mushroom Mesa_ section of the Boonta Eve circuit, were among the hazards of the already dangerous race track. The podracers of the vulptereen Dud Bolt, and the gran Mawhonic, flew forwards side by side, the two pilots working hard to pass by the other.

Anakin approached the two rivaling pilots, having passed by Clegg Holdfast, and the other podracer, that the young human man had not recognized. As he got closer to the vulptereen and the gran, Anakin could notice, that Dud Bolt was getting awfully close to his rival pilot, as if he was going to collide with him at any second.

True enough, the vulptereen pilot jerked his podracer to the right, the engines hitting Mawhonic's vehicle's engines. The gran retaliated by doing the same to Bolt, hitting his engines against the vulptereen's. As Anakin used his vehicles breaks to gain a bit of distance to the battling pilots, Dud Bolt once again collided with Mawhonic, hitting the gran's podracer with much more force.

Mawhonic's vehicle steered heavily to the right, the gran pilot losing control for a second. The podracer managed to regain control over his vehicle, and proceeded to bring it back on the race track.

As soon as the gran returned to the track, his podracer's right-side engine suddenly shook violently, black smoke spitting out of the exhaust pipes. The vehicle steered to the right again, also losing its altitude. Anakin could see what was about to happen, and he used his podracer's brakes more.

The right-side engine of Mawhonic's podracer hit the rocky ground, quickly crashing and being destroyed to tiny bits. The left-side engine suddenly flew to the other direction; the loss of power synergy with the other engine throwing it off balance.

As the engine flew to the left, Mawhonic's cockpit was detached from it, causing the cockpit to crash on the rocky ground. The out of control engine then collided with Dud Bolt's podracer; crushing the vulptereen's vehicle's engines, and causing him to crash violently.

Anakin clenched his teeth together, as he witnessed the two podracers crashing. He pulled back his vehicle's controls, and steered the podrace to the right slightly. Thanks to his enhanced senses and perception, the young human man managed to skillfully fly his vehicle through the crash site; avoiding the hundreds of hazardous pieces debris.

After passing the crashed podracers, Anakin let out a long exhale, calming down slightly. The human Jedi pilot then leaned forward slightly, increasing the vehicle's throttle to go faster. He'd still have several podracers to pass, until he'd be in the first place. And he'd need to win this race, if he and Ahsoka wanted to ever escape Tatooine.

 **...**

The hooting howls of a _varactyl_ filled a small tunnel on the planet of Utapau. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi rode on top of a tamed varactyl female, using his mount to traverse the long and complex cave systems inside the inner layers of one of the planet's sinkholes. Obi-Wan had rented the varactyl, named " _Boga_ " earlier, when he began his investigation into General Grievous' whereabouts on Utapau. He had gotten a tip from the _utapauan_ citizens about the Separatist generals location, and was now making his way there, hoping that he wasn't too late.

Obi-Wan and Boga arrived to the end of the tunnel, that led to an "balcony", overlooking a small landing pad, built in one of the smaller sinkholes near Utapau's capital city sinkhole. The human Jedi Master stopped his mount, using the harnesses to control her. Obi-Wan patted the varactyl's feathered head, as he climbed down from her back. He then signaled Boga to stay back, as he walked over to the small naturally formed rocky balcony.

As the human Jedi Master stood on the balcony, and looked down, he could see the cyborg Separatist general down at the landing pad, being flanked by two IG-100 MagnaGuards and a _T-series tactical droid_. The T-series tactical droids were often used as advisors to the Separatist commanders and generals. A newer and more efficient model, the _S-series super tactical droid_ had been manufactured by the Confederacy for well over a year now, but most of the Separatist armies had not yet completely upgraded to them.

Obi-Wan stroked his bearded chin, as he pondered on his next move. General Grievous was approaching his personal starship, the _Soulless One_ ; a modified _Belbullab-22_ starfighter. The cyborg general was clearly planning to leave, which was something that Obi-Wan would not allow to happen.

The human Jedi Master let out a quiet exhale, taking off his brown cloak. He set the clothing down, and stretched a bit, preparing for battle. After a second, he then jumped down from the balcony, landing silently a few meters behind the general and his droids. A slight smile appeared on Obi-Wan's face, as he straightened up.

"Hello there." The Jedi Master said in a calm, and polite voice. The MagnaGuards immediately turned around, turning on their electrostaffs. The tactical droid, as well as Grievous, turned around as well. The Separatist general stared at his nemesis, before chuckling quietly.

"General Kenobi! Should have known you'd be behind this attack..." Grievous said to the smirking Jedi Master, who shrugged his shoulders.

"We have some unfinished business still, General. But you're leaving awfully soon..." Obi-Wan replied to him, which made the cyborg chuckle again.

"Well, now that you are here.. I suppose that I can delay my departure for a few moments more..." The cyborg said, to which Obi-Wan smirked, and took a step back, preparing.

"You're too kind, General." He answered, after which Grievous let out a quiet laugh. The cyborg general then pointed at the Jedi Master with his robotic finger.

"Kill him..." The General ordered, after which the two MagnaGuards begun to approach Obi-Wan, swinging their electrostaffs around.

Obi-Wan quickly grabbed his lightsaber hilt from his waist, and activated the weapon, assuming the rather iconic readying stance, that the human Jedi Master was known for. Obi-Wan was an expert in the Form III: Soresu, as well as the Form IV: Ataru of the traditional forms of lightsaber combat. The experienced Jedi Master used Soresu as a form of defense, while utilizing Ataru, whenever he'd go on the offensive during battle.

The MagnaGuards approached him, swinging their staffs around aggressively. Just as the two droids were about to attack, Obi-Wan smirked. He quickly placed his fingers in his mouth, whistling audibly. One of the droids attacked him, causing him to fall back slightly, and block the attack.

A second later, the howling voice of Boga rang out in the air, and the female varactyl arrived on the overlooking balcony. Obi-Wan smiled, as the varactyl howled again, waiting for his further orders.

The human Jedi Master quickly swung around one of the MagnaGuards, before suddenly grabbing the other droid through the Force. Obi-Wan lifted the droid up, and threw it high up to the sky. The MagnaGuard flew towards Boga, who caught the droid in midair with her beak, quickly crushing the droid with her strong jaws. Boga lugged the MagnaGuard around for a second, before spitting out the destroyed droid, and letting its body fall on the rocky ground.

Obi-Wan then turned his attention to the other MagnaGuard, and made quick work of it; skillfully getting past the droids defenses, and cutting its head off with his lightsaber. After that, the human Jedi turned back around towards Grievous and the tactical droid.

The T-series tactical droid took out a blaster pistol from its hip, and approached Obi-Wan, shooting the blaster relentlessly. The human Jedi successfully deflected the blaster bolts, also walking towards the tactical droid, that didn't seem to worried about facing a Jedi. Obi-Wan easily attacked the droid, cutting off its hand, and afterwards swinging around, and cutting off the droid's head.

After the droids had been dealt with, Obi-Wan breathed in long, turning his attention to General Grievous, who had watched the show silently. The cyborg general hummed quietly, moving his hands to his cybernetic waist.

"I'll take extreme pleasure in cutting your head off, Kenobi... I've been waiting for this.." The cyborg said, to which the human Jedi scoffed quietly.

"Not as much as I have, General... I will not let you escape this time. So I'll make this ultimatum for the last time; surrender now, or be destroyed..." Obi-Wan replied to the Separatist general, who only laughed as a response.

"Don't insult me, Kenobi... I will never surrender to Jedi filth!" Grievous said, before detaching the secondary arms off of his primary ones, and taking a lightsaber hilt on each hand.

The Separatist cyborg general ignited the four lightsabers; all of which had been taken from earlier Jedi victims. Obi-Wan bit his lip, and took a step back, readying himself against the general.

Grievous chuckled, and began to swing his four lightsabers around, while slowly approaching the human Jedi Master. Obi-Wan's eyes frantically looked at the swinging lightsaber blades, knowing that any one of them could hit him, if he was not careful.

As Grievous got only a meter or so away from him, Obi-Wan quickly saw and opening, and lunged forward, striking down his lightsaber. The cyborg apparently was waiting for this, and successfully blocked his attack. The two combatants were then in a blade lock, Obi-Wan unsuccessfully trying to push Grievous back.

The cyborg general managed to end the blade lock in his favor, staggering his Jedi opponent back. Just as Grievous attempted to strike at Obi-Wan, the human Jedi Master jumped back, dodging the attack. Boga called out to her master, which made Obi-Wan lift his hand up, telling his varactyl companion to stand back.

Distant explosions were heard in the air, as the Republic and Separatist forces engaging each other. Obi-Wan and Grievous stared at each other, both waiting for the other to attack.

"Army or not... you must realize, that you are doomed.." The cyborg general said, his reptilian eyes looking deep into Obi-Wan's who smirked slightly.

"Oh, I don' think so..." The Jedi Master replied, before aggressively lunging at Grievous, striking him with his lightsaber.

The duel between the two longtime rivals continued, and would only end with one of their deaths.

 **...**

Anakin flew his podracer through the _Ebe Crater Valley_ , which was a long stretch of land in the Mos Espa Circuit. The third lap had begun a few moments earlier, and the young human man had gotten slightly worried about catching up to the lead. However, Anakin was now right behind the glymphid Aldar Beedo, who was in the fourth place at the moment.

As the human pilot got closer to the glymphid, Beedo seemed to decrease his speed slightly. He steered his podracer to the right slightly, which gave Anakin a clear opportunity to pass him. It was as if Aldar Beedo was giving the human pilot his position.

Anakin took the opportunity, and flew alongside the glymphid. As he was passing Beedo, Anakin looked at the glymphid, and could see him looking straight back at him. Beedo just stared at the human pilot, as he passed by, taking the fourth place. Anakin had no idea, what the glymphid was up to, but it made him more than a little suspicious. He shook any suspicions out of his head though, as he knew that he had more important things to keep his mind on.

After passing Beedo, Anakin quickly made his way to the podracer in the third spot; Gasgano. As he approached the xexto podracer, Anakin could see that Gasgano got worried; clearly seeing that the young human was coming dangerously close. The xexto podracer had always been a talented one, finishing second in the Boonta Eve Classic event thirteen years ago. However, his tactics were all too familiar to Anakin, who had no trouble predicting his moves, and turning the tables against him.

As Anakin got close behind Gasgano, the xexto used his four hands to quickly multitask, and use his podracer's computers to lock in on the approaching human. Gasgano was known to use his vehicle's on-board computers to help him keep his rivals in check behind him. The young human man flew in behind the xexto, who successfully blocked his advance; the on-board computers helping him always get in front of the human's vehicle.

Anakin rolled his eyes, as he attempted to get past Gasgano, only to have the xexto come in front of him. The young human man had seen this tactic so many times before, and was surprised that Gasgano even tried it anymore.

"Didn't work last time, and it won't work now..." Anakin said to himself, as he nonchalantly grabbed his podracer's controls, and pressed down the accelerator.

The human pilot tightly grabbed his controls, and pulled them back, making his podracer gain altitude. As he flew upwards, Anakin steered his vehicle hard to the left, making the podracer do a barrel roll in the air. This high-risk move allowed him to fly over Gasgano, and land back in front of him. The xexto was dumbfounded, as Anakin landed his podracer in front of his. The young human man then immediately pressed down the accelerator again, and quickly gained distance to Gasgano.

Anakin could then spot Sebulba in the distance, and used the throttle to increase his podracer's speed more, as he entered the narrow _Notch_ section of the _Beggar's Canyon_. In the following moments, the young human man narrowed the distance between him, and the dug Sebulba.

As he entered the hazardous _Arch Canyon_ , Anakin had closed in on Sebulba, and was now less than 30 meters away from the veteran dug pilot. Sebulba could more than likely see the approaching human, as he accelerated more, and tried to get away from Anakin, but to no avail. To his surprise, Anakin had been able to get all the way to the third spot, without using the booster. The young man chuckled, as he thought that Watto had bought a better podracer, than the toydarian had probably thought.

As Anakin and Sebulba entered the _Whip_ , the human pilot closed in behind the dug. Sebulba looked behind him, seeing Anakin coming in closer and closer. The two of them spent the duration of moving through the Jag Crag Gorge, and the Laguna Cave, flying less than five meters away from each other.

As soon as the two exited the caves, and entered the Canyon Dune Turn, Anakin made his move. He pressed down the accelerator, and moved his podracer beside Sebulba's; attempting to pass him from the right. The dug turned his head to look at the human man, who was now flying right beside him.

Sebulba shouted something at Anakin, but he could obviously not hear. The dug then suddenly pressed something on his podracer cockpit's dashboard. A second later, one of the panels on Sebulba's podracer's engines opened, revealing a nozzle. Suddenly, the nozzle spit out fire, which was meant to hit Anakin's vehicle's engine, and destroy it. The human man's eyes widened, as he saw the flamethrower come to life.

"Oh crap!" Anakin exclaimed, before quickly stretching his hand out, and using the Force to stop the flames, and keep them away from his podracer's engines.

As the human man kept the flames away, Sebulba could only stare at it. Anakin knew, that the dug would be more than surprised at what he was seeing, but he tried not to think about it right now. After a moment, Sebulba shut down the flamethrower, which allowed Anakin to pass by him, and get in front of him, as they exited the turn, and entered the Bindy Bend.

Anakin quickly attempted to get away from Sebulba, but the dug used his vehicle's throttle to keep himself tightly behind the human's podracer. Anakin sighed deeply, pondering on what to do. After flying through the Bend, and avoiding the obstacles, he came to a realization. He had to use the booster, in order to get away from Sebulba, and catch up to Hekula.

Without thinking on it more, Anakin activated the booster. In an instant, the podracer jumped forward with such speeds, that the human man had difficulties controlling his vehicle. He managed to gain distance to Sebulba, but the speed that he was now flying in, was almost a bit too much to the young man.

Anakin had to completely immerse himself in the Force, in order to control his vehicle, and not crash. Flying through the _Coil_ , and _Jett's Chute_ , the human pilot left Sebulba behind by dozens of meters; also narrowing down the distance between him and the dug's son, Hekula.

After a moment, Anakin could spot Hekula in front of him, as he approached the _Corkscrew_. Flying through the narrow corkscrew, Anakin could tell, that the booster was running out of juice, as his vehicle's speed decreased. Right after flying through the narrow passage, and entering the final stretch of the Hutt Flats, Anakin was less than ten meters behind Hekula.

Just as he got behind the dug, the booster stopped working, and Anakin's speed dropped drastically. Hekula started to gain distance between them again, as his podracer, that Anakin himself had built years ago, was one of the fastest vehicles ever created. The young human man sighed long, as he looked at the escaping podracer. He knew what he had to do in order to win, and he didn't like it.

He had to cheat...

Anakin closed his eyes, and reached out with his hand. He couldn't bear to look at what he was about to do. He immersed himself with the Force, and grabbed Hekula's podracer's engine. He then squeezed his hand, which effectively crushed important parts in the engine.

The podracer jerked violently, its right-side engine starting to smoke, and catch fire. As Hekula frantically tried to regain control of his vehicle, the podracer steered to the right. The engine hit the ground a moment later, violently being destroyed to tiny bits. The rest of the podracer crashed as well, bringing Hekula down with it.

Anakin sighed long, as he steered his own vehicle to avoid the destruction, and fly past it to get to the first position. He hated that he had to do, what he had just done. He had just destroyed the podracer he had spent years building, not to mention that he could have just severely injured Hekula, if not even killed him.

Sighing again, Anakin returned his attention to the task at hand. He calmly flew his podracer forward, approaching the Mos Espa Grand Arena. He would win the Boonta Eve Classic, but at what cost?

After a moment, he arrived to the arena, flying towards the finish line. The entire audience was on their feet, either cheering or booing loudly. As the human pilot crossed the finish line, the crowd was even louder.

"It's Katarn! Katarn has done it!" The commentator's yelled through the loudspeakers, as Anakin decreased his vehicle's speed, flying to the end of the arena.

A few moments later, Anakin brought his podracer to a stop, as dozens of people from the audience ran to the track to celebrate. He shut down the vehicle's engines, and climbed out of the cockpit.

Several people ran to him, and took a hold of him; lifting him up to their shoulders, and holding him up. People all around him cheered loudly, and showed their support to him, even though none of them knew of his true identity. Though still having his face hidden with the cloth, Anakin however laughed, and joined in with the celebration; wanting to seem as normal as possible.

He had just won the Boonta Eve for the second time. No matter what he had to do to reach it, Anakin had secured his and Ahsoka's escape from Tatooine, and that was all that mattered to him. Nothing would ever come between him and her.

 **...**

Around half an hour later, Anakin walked inside one of the hallways of the Grand Arena. He had taken off his headgear, knowing that reporters, or other snooping people were not around anymore. As he approached the small suite, that Watto had secured for him and Ahsoka, the toydarian shopkeeper appeared, flying beside his former slave.

"That was incredible, Ani! You delivered on your promise, and for goodness' sake I know it. I just won at least seven hundred thousand druggats!" Watto said cheerily, patting Anakin's shoulder, who chuckled quietly.

"And me and Ahsoka can get off Tatooine safe and sound... a happy ending for all of us." The young man said, to which Watto scratched the back of his head, and nodded.

"Ah, right, of course! I'll go see to it right now, actually... as soon as I collect my money.." The toydarian replied, after which he shook hands with Anakin, who smiled.

"You do that. See you soon, Watto." He said, after which his former owner nodded his head, and slowly flew away.

Anakin then smiled, and turned towards the door to the suite again. He opened the door, and stepped in, immediately seeing his love Ahsoka sitting down on a couch. As soon as he entered, Anakin could see that something was bothering Ahsoka.

Before he could say anything, a twi'lek woman, and a kiffar man entered the room from the balcony. Anakin's eyes widened, as he saw the two approaching him.

"Hello, Anakin. Looks like you haven't gotten rusty, when it comes to flying podracers..." Jedi Master Quinlan Vos said, a smirk on his face. Anakin swallowed audibly, having a bad feeling about this.

"Masters... this is a surprise.." He answered, his heartbeat increasing. Master Secura folded her arms, standing next to Ahsoka, who sighed quietly.

"Winning this race no doubt brought you money. Money to perhaps get off Tatooine?" The twi'lek woman asked, which made her human Jedi colleague bite his lip.

"Well... yes! We'd have used the money to get off Tatooine, and get back to Coruscant..." Anakin tried to explain, knowingly lying to the Jedi. Master Vos scoffed, and shook his head.

"Is that so? Well, would you care to explain, why your former Padawan then blocked our communication attempts with you?" The kiffar man asked. Anakin raised his eyebrows, and looked at Ahsoka, who sighed, and looked down at the floor. He had not known about any communication attempts by the two Jedi Masters.

Before Anakin could answer, the suite's door opened again. The human Jedi turned around, noticing a group of _nikto_ and weequay entering the room. The men were all armed, which raised some suspicions in the young human man.

"This is a private meeting... could you please leave?" Aayla asked the intruders, who didn't answer.

The group of men then took out their weapons, and aimed them at the Jedi. Vos and Aayla immediately grabbed their lightsabers, and activated them, deflecting the shots that the armed intruders blasted at them. Anakin took a step back, and quickly turned towards R2, who stood at the back of the room.

"Lightsabers, R2!" He shouted at the droid, whilst dodging a blaster bolt.

R2 chirped as a response, and opened a small hatch in his body, spitting out Anakin's and Ahsoka's lightsaber hilts. The human Jedi grabbed the hilts from midair, before looking at Ahsoka, who seemed tense and anxious.

"Ahsoka, take this!" He said loudly, throwing Ahsoka's old lightsaber hilt to her. The togruta girl grabbed the hilt from the air, and activated the weapon, having to immediately deflect a blaster bolt.

As more armed thugs entered the room, Aayla and Vos attacked some of the nikto and weequay men, the kiffar man managing to strike two of them down. One nikto man lunged at Anakin, attempting to stab him with vibroknife. The human Jedi Knight quickly cut the knife in half, before slashing the nikto man across his chest, killing him.

Suddenly, more thugs entered the room from the balcony, flanking the Jedi. Ahsoka noticed this, and attacked the men, managing to slice their weapons in half, before using the Force to push them violently against the wall. As she turned towards the balcony again, someone suddenly kicked her hand, which made her drop the lightsaber hilt. The attacker then quickly grabbed her, and wrapped an arm around her neck, while also shoving a blaster pistol's barrel against her temple.

"Enough! Drop your weapons, Jedi!" A distinctively raspy voice shouted, after which the attacking thugs stepped away from the Jedi, though still having their weapons aimed at them.

As Anakin, Aayla and Quinlan turned around, they could see Ahsoka being held by someone, who had a pistol against her head. The hostage taker took a deep breath, looking at Anakin with his blood red eyes.

"Drop your lightsaber, Skywalker... or your pretty little Padawan gets her head full of laser!" The _duros_ man yelled, pressing the pistol tighter against Ahsoka's head. Anakin could only breathe heavier, as he stared at the duros man.

The hostage taker was the duros bounty hunter _Cad Bane_ ; someone who Anakin, Ahsoka, and Quinlan had had plenty of run ins during the war. Bane had always worked for the highest bidder, though often steering his expertise in to helping the Separatist war effort. Bane was wearing his signature large hat, as well as a dark brown trench coat. He also wielded his modified _LL-30_ blaster pistols, which the duros man used to a deadly effect.

As Bane held Ahsoka in his grasp, Anakin glanced at Aayla and Vos, who quickly looked at him, and nodded. The young human man sighed, and deactivated his lightsaber, his Jedi Master colleagues doing the same. This wasn't the first time Bane had succeeded in manipulating a situation to his favor, by taking Ahsoka hostage. Anakin remembered this well, and it only made him angrier.

As soon as the Jedi dropped their lightsabers, the group of men took a hold of them, putting electrical handcuffs on the trio. After that, Bane pushed Ahsoka off of him, one of his thugs putting handcuffs on her as well. The duros put away his pistol, and walked over to Anakin, a wide smirk on his face.

"Jabba will be more than happy to have four Jedi brought before him..." Bane said, a quiet laugh escaping his lips, as the breathing tubes attached to his cheeks hissed quietly. Anakin frowned deeply, staring at the duros bounty hunter.

"Well... then takes us to Jabba. I always knew I'd end up killing that disgusting _sleemo_..." He replied, using the Huttese word for "slime". Bane chuckled, and nodded, after which he signaled his men to take the four Jedi away.

R2 beeped and chirped frantically, which got the duros' attention, as he picked up the lightsabers. Bane then signaled his men to take R2 into custody as well; one of them attaching a restrainer bolt on the astromech droid.

As the nikto and weequay men escorted the Jedi captives out of the suite, Anakin could see Bane walking over to the glymphid podracer Aldar Beedo, and handing him a bunch of credits. The human man frowned deeply, as the glymphid stared at him. Beedo must have figured out his true identity, and informed Jabba and his thugs about it.

The four Jedi, and R2, were then taken out of the Grand Arena, and boarded onto repulsorlift skiffs. Anakin had no idea, what Jabba would do with his Jedi captives, but he assumed that it had a lot to do with torture, and execution. The way in which they'd be soon executed, was the million credit question, and something that the young man did not like to think about.

 **...**

Kriza held her head down, as the Hapan Royal Guard escorted her on the Royal Flagship Battle Dragoon of Ta'a Chume. The young human woman was brought to the bridge of the ship, where the Queen Mother was waiting.

As Kriza lifted her head up, she could see through the massive windows of the bridge, that the ship, and a large fleet, where approaching a terrestrial planet. She realized soon, that the planet in question was Onderon; one of the Republic's biggest current military bases. She let out a quiet gasp, which was heard by the Queen Mother, who turned to look at her, with a smile on her face.

"I brought you here to witness the power we hold, my dear. Onderon has become one of the largest military bases for the Republic, and its destruction would cripple the war efforts in the Inner Rim..." Ta'a Chume said with a smile. Kriza didn't answer, but only stared out of the window. The Queen Mother chuckled, and placed her hand on the human's shoulder.

"Sit back.. enjoy the show. I have some meditating to do..." The hapan woman said with a smile. Kriza's heartbeat increased, and she looked at the Queen Mother.

"No... please! The people of Onderon haven't done anything... please spare them..." She pleaded, to which the Queen chuckled at quietly. Ta'a Chume gently touched Kriza's cheek, looking into her eyes.

"Oh, dear child... they have done more than you'd like to think. But don't worry... I have no intentions of massacring the population..." She replied, before slowly walking away. As Kriza turned to look after the Queen Mother, she turned towards her.

"But the Prime Minister? His life I'll enjoy taking..." Ta'a Chume declared ominously, before turning around again, and heading off the bridge.

Kriza bit her lip, and turned to look out of the window again. Her heart jumped to her throat, as she witnessed the Hapan warships move in, and engage the Republic defenders. She was afraid of what the Queen Mother would do to Onderon; especially after witnessing the total destruction she had cause on Tanaab.

The young woman sighed deeply, and helplessly watched, as the Hapan fleet slowly gained the upper hand, thanks to the Queen Mother's battle meditation. The Republic defenders would not last long, and soon, the entire planet of Onderon would fall...


	9. Chapter 8: Court and Tribunal

**Chapter 8: Court and Tribunal**

 **Fourteen months earlier...**

Hundreds of cheering people populated the streets of _Theed_ ; the capital city of Naboo. The hundreds of Naboo natives showed their support for the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic; Palpatine, who had arrived to the annual _Festival of Light_ event the day before. The Festival of Light was held each year, to celebrate the anniversary of Naboo joining the Republic.

This year's event was plagued by conspiracy, however, as Count Dooku, being aided by a band of bounty hunters and mercenaries, had attempted to kidnap the Chancellor. The Republic had unearthed the plan beforehand, though, and was able to send an agent to infiltrate the mercenary squad.

Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had faked his own death, in order to take on the identity of his "killer", _Rako Hardeen_. Disguised as Hardeen, Obi-Wan had successfully infiltrated the squad working for Dooku, and was able to foil their plans, when the kidnapping had been attempted at the Festival of Light.

Obi-Wan's former Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, had not been told about his master's undercover mission, and as such had tried his hardest to capture "Rako Hardeen", and bring him back to Republic custody. The young human man had figured out the deception only a few days before the event, and that his former master was indeed still alive.

Anakin was now standing next to his best friend, and former Jedi Master, who had just recently changed his looks from the rough and coarse Hardeen, back to his warm and friendly self. Obi-Wan's head and facial hair were completely shaved, though, which gave the human man a highly different look. Both he and his former apprentice had been able to catch all of the bounty hunters, who participated in the kidnap attempt, as well as force Count Dooku to flee Naboo.

As Anakin mumbled something quietly to himself, Chancellor Palpatine walked past the two Jedi, heading towards his personal Theta-class T-2c shuttle, being flanked by his Red Guard, and several delegates from the Galactic Senate, such as one of his oldest allies; Padmé Amidala. Obi-Wan heard his former Padawan's grumbling, and turned his attention to the young man.

"You're still angry, aren't you?" He asked calmly, to which Anakin scoffed quietly.

"You think?" The young Jedi Knight answered in a distasted voice. Obi-Wan sighed, knowing just how angry his former Padawan was at him.

"I know that I should have told you, Anakin.. but trust me; things turned out better this way..." The Jedi Master tried to explain, but his apprentice was having none of it.

"Better!? I was led to believe that my oldest friend is dead! I attended your fake funeral, for goodness' sake!" Anakin said louder, taking a challenging step towards Obi-Wan, who quickly lifted his hand up to calm him down, and not cause a scene.

"Hear me out, Anakin. While you nearly caught me and Bane, your ignorance of my true identity helped me gain the bounty hunters' trust. If you would have known about the mission, Bane and the others might have figured me out; seeing that no one would have pursued them." He explained, to which Anakin opened his mouth, but sighed, and stood down.

"I still should have been notified of it at the very beginning... I know I could have helped, even if I knew about the plan.." The young man said, returning to stand next to Obi-Wan.

As the Chancellor and his delegates boarded the shuttle, Obi-Wan turned his gaze towards another group of Jedi, who were standing nearby. As he saw Anakin's apprentice Ahsoka Tano, standing near Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Plo Koon, the human man nudged his former Padawan's shoulder.

"You know... you should feel as lucky as I do, for having a Padawan that cares deeply about you." He said to Anakin, who raised his eyebrows, and looked at him.

"What?" The young Jedi Knight asked. His former master smiled, and pointed at Ahsoka, who stood a small distance away.

"Remember when you and Ahsoka chased us on _Orondia_? I knocked you out, after telling you to not follow me. As you were unconscious, Cad Bane attempted to kill you. Ahsoka came in between, and saved you... hovering over your motionless body, and protecting you." Obi-Wan explained, which caused his former Padawan to raise his eyebrows further, and turn to look at his own apprentice.

"Really? So... instead of continuing to chase after you and Bane, she decided to protect me?" Anakin asked quietly, to which his friend smiled, and nodded, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"The bond between you and her is especially strong, Anakin. You're one of the luckiest Jedi because of that.. and you should cherish it, and make an effort to keeping it intact." Obi-Wan replied, giving his former apprentice's shoulder a gentle pat.

Anakin could only stare at his Padawan, standing nearby. He knew that the relationship between him and Ahsoka was way too close and intimate for a master and an apprentice, but despite of that, he still was surprised to hear just how much his togruta Padawan cared for him.

"Yeah... yeah, I will.." He said quietly, to which Obi-Wan chuckled, and gave his shoulder another pat.

"I guess you're thankful now, that Master Yoda got Ahsoka to be your apprentice? I remember how much you were against the idea of having your own Padawan." The Jedi Master noted, which made his former apprentice scratch the back of his head.

"Yeah... well... I guess we all are wrong sometimes. By the way.. thanks for being part of it; I really think that being around Ahsoka has changed me... for the better." Anakin replied, to which Obi-Wan smiled more, and nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad you think so, Anakin.. because I agree. Oh, and don't mention it... Master Yoda and I both knew, that she'd be a perfect match for you... maybe a bit too perfect, now that I think about it.." The older human said with a laugh. Anakin turned his gaze at Obi-Wan, raising his eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, his eyebrow raised. His former master laughed, and waved his hand dismissively.

"Nothing.. don't worry about it." Obi-Wan replied, still laughing quietly.

In the following moments, Chancellor Palpatine and his delegates boarded the Theta-class shuttle. The shuttle closed its boarding ramp, after which its engines were turned on. As the cheering crowd waved their goodbye to the leaving Supreme Chancellor, the Theta-class shuttle lifted off from the ground, and turned towards the sky. The shuttle's engines glowed brighter, and the ship pushed itself to the sky, leaving the city of Theed behind it.

After the shuttle had left, the people began to clear out from the area. As the rest of the Jedi made their way to a nearby building, Obi-Wan turned back towards Anakin, getting his attention.

"Once we're done here, you and Ahsoka will join Master Luminara in her attempt at taking back Duro from the Separatists." The Jedi Master explained. His former apprentice hummed quietly, folding his arms.

The duros homeworld of _Duro_ had been conquered by the Confederacy some months ago. The Republic had only now been able to initiate an invasion to retake and liberate the planet.

"As you wish, master. I'll inform Rex and the 501st, that we'll head out for Duro next..." Anakin said, to which his friend lifted his hand slightly.

"No need; I've already notified them. You'll meet Rex and the rest of the 501st on _Nubia_ ; the entire legion has assembled there for the time being. From there, you'll lead a fleet, that will help Master Luminara in retaking Duro... understood?" Obi-Wan asked after explaining, to which his apprentice nodded his head.

"Yes, master. I'll go tell Ahsoka immediately.." Anakin replied, after which his former master smiled, and nodded back at him.

"There's a cruiser waiting for you two at the Theed spaceport... it'll take you to Nubia. And you two relax a bit on the trip over there, alright? You deserve a bit of rest, before the battle..." He said with a smile. Anakin chuckled quietly, and nodded, as he took a step away from Obi-Wan.

"You always want the best for me, eh, master? Stay safe out there..." The young man said, after which his Jedi Master smiled at him.

"The Force is with you, my old apprentice... good luck." Obi-Wan replied, slightly bowing his head to Anakin in an honorary fashion.

After that, Anakin made his way to the nearby building, where the rest of the Jedi had went. Obi-Wan stood around in the plaza for a moment, before also walking to the same building. As he walked, the near middle aged man stroked his shaved chin and head, finding the lack of hair a strange feeling to him.

In the following minutes, Anakin made his way to his Padawan, and let her know about their next mission. The two of them then begun to make their way to the Theed spaceport, from which they'd get to the ship, that would take them to Nubia.

 **...**

A _Consular-_ class cruiser flew across the bright nebulae near the _Nubus system_ of the _Corellian Sector_. The small temperate planet of Nubia was located within the Nubus system, along with four other planets. The Republic owned cruiser was nearing Nubia, though still being several light years away from the planet.

The Consular-class cruisers had been in Republic service for more than 50 years. Used mostly as diplomatic transports and cargo ships, many Consular cruisers had been converted into lightly armed, fast moving frigates by the Republic military. The Clone War wasn't the only conflict, where the cruisers had been used as military ships; during the Stark Hyperspace War, over 25 years earlier, dozens of ships of this class served in the Republic Navy.

The Consular-class cruiser flying through the nebulae clouds was one of the few ships of the class, that had not been modified into armed frigates yet. The cruiser, named "The Prodigy", had been used as a diplomatic ship for nearly 35 years. During that time, the ship had transported countless of VIPs in the Republic government, as well as Jedi, to numerous planets and missions.

As with all of the Consular-class cruisers, the ship had a spacious "salon pod", located right below the bridge, at the front of the ship. This suite could also be used as a large escape pod, as it was fully eject-able from the ship's hull, and had its own small engine.

Inside the salon pod, Ahsoka sighed long, as she let herself fall back on one of the comfortable cushioned chairs. She closed her eyes, and allowed her body to relax. The young togruta could then hear the door slide open, which made her open her eyes again. She turned her head to the right, seeing Anakin sitting down on a chair next to her.

"Relaxing a bit, are we now?" The young man asked, letting out a quiet laugh, as he leaned back on his comfortable seat. His togruta Padawan chuckled, and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Of course I'm going to relax when I get the chance; a girl needs some quiet time every now and then, and since we're fighting a war.. such things are a rare luxury..." Ahsoka replied, closing her eyes again, and letting her head fall back on the cushioned headrest.

That made Anakin raise his eyebrows slightly, as he pondered on his Padawan's words. He had never thought much about the fact, that they had been in the Clone Wars for nearly three years now. For three years the entire Galaxy had been drowned in constant warfare, and the young Jedi Knight had been in the middle of it for most of that time. And for almost the entirety of the war, he had been with Ahsoka; a young girl, who had grown into a strong, beautiful young woman during the course of it.

Still, just the thought of being a young person, still growing, and finding out just who they are, while being in the middle of a bloody war, was something that Anakin could not even begin to comprehend. He had always admired Ahsoka's resolve, and strength, but he had never stopped to think about, if the war had been a negative influence on his Padawan.

"Yeah... I suppose that moments like this are rare for us these days. Do you ever think about where we would be, if this war never started..?" Anakin asked his apprentice, while leaning back on his chair. Ahsoka was quiet for a moment, before humming slightly.

"Well... I assume that my apprenticeship to you would have been a lot more peaceful, for starters.." The young togruta answered with a chuckle, which made her master smile slightly as well.

"Yeah.. we've had our fair share of crazy things happening during this war, eh? Would you have liked it more, if this war never started?" He then asked, after which his apprentice opened her eyes, and licked her lips quickly, before replying.

"Of course... I don't enjoy war and death, master. But some of the things that I've gone through, and some of the things I've learned thanks to this war, are something that I'd never want to trade away.." Ahsoka answered with a smile, after which she turned her gaze towards her master. Before Anakin could reply, she moved her hand over his, gently squeezing it. That made the young man's eyes widen slightly, and he looked into Ahsoka's eyes.

"That includes everything I've experienced with you... Ani.." She said quietly, almost whispering. Anakin's heart began to beat a little faster, as the thoughts about his and Ahsoka's relationship filled his mind.

"You know... I heard from Obi-Wan, that you protected me from Cad Bane, when I was unconscious on Orondia a few days ago.." He said, scratching the back of his head. Ahsoka was quiet, before letting out a quiet giggle.

"Of course I did, Ani... why wouldn't I have?" She replied, to which her master bit his lip.

"I mean... you rather kept me from harm, than continue to pursue Bane and Obi-Wan. That kind of commitment is... admirable.." Anakin stated, which made his Padawan let out a sigh, as she continued to smile.

"Any good apprentice would do that, Anakin... but I did it because I care deeply about you. I didn't want to have you be hurt by that slimy bounty hunter... and even though they got away.. it was worth it, because you were safe..." She answered, looking deep into her master's eyes, who was rather dumbfounded.

"I... wow.. that's... really sweet of you actually, Snips. Thank you... for everything.." Anakin then said quietly, to which Ahsoka smiled sweetly, and nodded.

After a short moment, the young togruta quickly glanced at the doorway, a smirk appearing on her face.

"That door has a lock on it, right?" She asked, returning to look at Anakin, who raised his eyebrow.

"Uh... yeah.. why?" He asked back, after which his apprentice smirked, and got up from her seat.

Ahsoka giggled quietly, as she stood up. She then quickly swiped her hand, using the Force to close the door, and lock it. The togruta girl then made her way to her master, suddenly getting on top of him, and sitting down on his lap. As Anakin had his eyebrows raised, Ahsoka bit her lip.

"You wanna thank me? Why don't you show me, just how grateful you are, Skyguy?" She said quietly, her voice changing to a seductive tone. Anakin's heart skip a beat, and his mouth drew wide open.

"Uhm... I... I thought you wanted to relax...?" The young man replied in a quite tender voice. Ahsoka chuckled, and bit her lip again, as she got closer to him.

"Relaxing is a broad term, handsome... why don't we both 'relax', now that we still have some precious free time on our hands?" She answered with a chuckle, before slowly moving her mouth to Anakin's neck, and gently kissing it. The young human man's heart beat faster.

"I... I guess we have an hour or two to waste.." He noted quietly, to which his Padawan chuckled.

"Atta boy.." She replied, giving her master's neck another kiss. Ahsoka then lifted her head up again, and brought herself closer to Anakin. The young Jedi Knight was feeling rather flustered; Ahsoka had never been this bold before in their relationship.

"Though... shouldn't we-" He attempted to say, but was interrupted by his togruta lover, as she pressed her lips against his.

Ahsoka passionately kissed him, her hand going through his hair. As they kissed, Anakin also moved his hand on the back of Ahsoka's head, as well as her waist. They continued to kiss, and hold each other close; both using the little time they had together for the best of their abilities. And if they would face death in the battle to come, they both knew, that this was something that they wanted to have, before the end.

 **Present day...**

The darkened passenger compartment of an LAAT/i gunship shook, as anti-air fire shot exploded near the ship outside. The compartment was filled with more than twenty clone troopers, all of whom were wearing white and blue colored armor. They were part of the 501st Legion; an elite force of clones, under the commandment of Anakin Skywalker.

As the gunship shook slightly again, a red light inside the passenger compartment lit up. The clones then took their helmets, and put them on, after which they begun to go over their weapons, and prepare them for battle.

Among the troopers was CC-7567, nicknamed "Rex"; an experienced veteran clone captain of the 501st Legion. As the troopers around him prepared their weapons, Rex silently stared at his worn helmet. During the years of the Clone Wars, Rex had seen many things, and had gone through more than many of his fellow clones. All of it had had an impact on the captain, who had become even more hardened and rough in the last few months, as the war had only become bloodier.

Rex and the 501st were now on _Taris_ ; a large terrestrial planet in the Outer Rim, that once was one of the most populated, and prosperous planets in the entire Republic. Nearly four thousand years ago, Taris was a wealthy planet, with one fifth of its landmass being covered in a massive city. During the _Jedi Civil War_ , _Darth Malak_ , and his Sith Armada, destroyed the entire city in a devastating orbital bombardment.

Taris struggled for centuries to rebuild, and even after three thousand years, the planet had never returned to its former glory. Even though massive cities once again donned the planet's surface; once the homeworld of nearly six billion people, had a population of only slightly above a billion in the modern Galaxy.

Because of these reasons, Taris had become a rather insignificant "backwater planet", with not much value to the Republic. Despite of this, the Confederacy had attempted to conquer the planet more than once during the course of the war. Up until now, the Republic defenders had been able to counter the droid attackers. As part of their desperate final offensives all around the Galaxy, the Separatists had initiated a strong assault on the planet, and were able to defeat the defending forces.

Alongside Jedi Master Plo Koon, and his _104th Battalion_ , and elite force of clones known as the _Wolf Pack_ , the 501st Legion had arrived on Taris, in order to help in the fight to retake the planet. Because their Jedi officer was currently unavailable for leadership, Rex and the rest of the 501st were under the command of Master Koon during the assault on Taris.

As the gunship shook around again due to the anti-air fire, Rex took a deep breath. He then put on his helmet, and turned his attention to the clone troopers inside the LAAT. Another round of flak fire exploded near the ship, causing it to shook yet again. Rex took a hold of a handle in the ceiling, to keep his balance.

"Alright, boys! Today we take Taris back from the clankers! Let's show them that the 501st is still the best damn brigade in the entire Grand Army!" The clone captain shouted at his men, who had all finished preparing their equipment.

"Sir, yes sir!" The entire squad answered in unison, which was consisted of many troopers, whom Rex had fought alongside with for nearly the entirety of the war. Among the troopers were clones nicknamed _Jesse_ and Kix, who had been a part of Rex's squad for years, and had formed a close bond to their captain.

As the gunship decreased its speed and altitude, Rex grabbed the handle in the ceiling tighter. The clone captain had seen much, and been through countless of battles, but he still always felt anxious, whenever he was deployed on the battlefield. Even though he was one of the most skillful and deadly clones in the entire Grand Army, a stray blaster bolt, or well placed artillery shell could always end the captain's life in an instant.

A moment later, the LAAT touched down on the ground, causing the passenger compartment to shake slightly. A second later, the red light turned green, and the ship's armored doors opened. Rex immediately begun to motion the troopers inside the ship to head outside.

"Go! Go! Get out, and find cover!" The Captain shouted, as his subordinates did as ordered, and ran out of the gunship.

After the squad had exited, Rex followed them, jumping down from the gunship, and touching down on one of the streets of Taris' capital city. As the gunship took off, and flew away, several mortar rounds hit the ground near him, which killed a few clone troopers that were stationed next to the captain. Rex staggered slightly, after which he regained his focus, and grabbed his two pistols, as he began to run along the war torn streets with his squad.

Rex had to dodge more mortar rounds, as well as downed Republic vehicles, as he and his squad made their way across the destroyed street. Stray blaster bolts from droid weapons hit some of the captain's subordinates, killing or injuring them. Rex kept on running, however, as he knew that stopping in the middle of the street would be a death sentence.

After running several meters, the clone captain and his surviving squad members got to a makeshift barricade, that had been built by the clones earlier. Near to the barricade lied the smoking wreck of a destroyed AT-TE walker. A dozen clones were taking cover behind the walker wreck, many of them injured, and waiting for medics to come take care of them.

As Rex got to the barricade, he could notice a clone trooper, who was wearing a customized 501st armor, with a _pauldron_ and _kama_ attached to it, standing atop of the barricade, and shooting his elite _WESTAR-M5_ series blaster rifle at the advancing droids. Rex put his pistols back to their holsters, and signaled his surviving team to take cover, before returning his attention to the elite 501st trooper.

"Commander Appo! Sir!" The Captain shouted, which managed to get the clone commander's attention. The clone turned around, and quickly jumped off the barricade.

"Rex! There you are... I was wondering if the clankers managed to cut you off.." Appo said, as he walked to his subordinate, leaning his assault rifle on his shoulder.

 _CC-1119_ , nicknamed " _Appo_ ", was the commander and leading clone officer of the 501st Legion. Up until seven months ago, Appo had served under Rex as a lieutenant, and before that as a sergeant in the 501st, but after attending and graduating _ARC_ training on _Kamino_ ; Appo had quickly risen above his former superior officer, and had taken command of the 501st Legion.

The _Advanced Recon Commandos_ of the clone army were the most elite soldiers found in the entire Galaxy. They went through extensive and intense training, and graduated as the Grand Army's most elite special forces units, along with the regular _clone commandos_. Although neither Rex or Appo had been created to be ARC troopers; several commanding officers of the clone army went through ARC training, like the two of them, to become better and more skilled at both leading, and fighting.

Passing the ARC training program did not make clones ARC troopers per se, but gave them invaluable experience and helped them rise up the chain of command faster. Captains and commanders who had graduated from the program were also given the permission to use the traditional Mandalorian pauldrons and kamas on their armor. Clone commanders such as CC-5052, "Bly", were given the permission to equip their entire brigade with pauldrons and kamas, which further gave their soldiers a more unique look.

Appo being in command of the 501st had at first been a strange feeling for Rex, but with time, the experienced clone captain had come to terms with it, and settled with serving under another clone, and not just his Jedi commanding officer.

Rex had changed as a person during the recent months; the circumstances surrounding his "brother's", ARC trooper _CT-5555_ 's death had hit the captain hard. His close friend, nicknamed " _Fives_ " for his distinct designation number, had mysteriously gone rogue, after an incident in the _Ringo Vinda_ system, where a trooper of the 501st Legion, nicknamed " _Tup_ ", had suddenly turned on one of the Jedi Generals during the battle, killing her.

Fives had afterwards become convinced of a conspiracy against the Jedi, and tried to prove this by extracting an alleged control chip from Tup's and his own brain. The _kaminoans_ had then attempted to capture Fives, which caused the ARC trooper to go rogue, and escape. Later, on Coruscant, as the paranoid clone had attempted to convince Rex about the conspiracy, Fives was killed by the clones of the _Coruscant Guard_.

Even months after his brother's death, Rex was haunted by Fives' words of the conspiracy. The ARC trooper had talked about his "nightmares" finally coming to an end, when he died. Rex, as well as every clone, knew exactly what these "nightmares" were.

Every night, the captain could see blurry images in his dreams, and repeating sentences as if orders, talking about "the mission". He, like all the other clones, had no idea what any of this meant, but none of them wanted to bring this up to their Jedi officers. Rex didn't know why he was unable to talk about the dreams with his Jedi commanders; the captain always found himself not wanting to bring it up, whenever he got the chance. At times, when he was alone, Rex wondered if this was all part of the "programming", that every clone went through for years after birth.

An explosion nearby brought the captain back to reality, as he had drifted away to his thoughts for a short moment. He looked at his commanding officer, and saluted him.

"Nothing's stopping the _Torrent Company_ , sir.." Rex assured to Appo, who nodded in acknowledgment. After he had stepped down as the commanding officer of the entire 501st Legion, Rex had returned to commanding an elite section of the brigade; the Torrent Company. Commander Appo then looked around, pointing at a nearby alleyway.

"Alright; take a few squads with you, and make your way to that alley. Try to flank the clankers from the left side. General Plo and _Wolffe_ are attacking from the south.." The Commander explained, referring to their kel dor Jedi General, and his second-in-command; _CC-3636_.

"I still recommend that we wait for an air strike, before we make a strike against the droid stronghold..." Rex answered to his commanding officer, who was quiet for a moment, before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah.. I've already asked for the 'flyboys' to drop a hundred dozen tons of bombs on the clankers... they should arrive shortly." Appo replied, as he quickly looked at his comlink device, that was attached to his wrist, which also displayed a digital clock.

After a few moments, the sounds of approaching starships filled the air. Several _BTL-B Y-Wing_ ships flew above Rex and Appo, and bombed the large area further away from the barricade. After the bombing run, the clone commander turned back to his subordinate.

"Okay, now's your chance, Rex. Take Raptor, Oricon, and Echo squads with you, and flank the droids! I'll press on with the rest of our forces." Appo ordered, to which Rex quickly saluted him.

"Right away, sir!" The Captain answered energetically. Even though he still often felt weird saluting his former subordinate, Rex had adapted quite well to being lower in the chain of command.

After that, the clone captain quickly turned around, and walked to a large group of clones. He signaled the three squads of 501st troopers to follow him, as he began to make his way towards the nearby alleyway.

As Rex and his squads left, Commander Appo took control of the rest of the troopers assembled at the barricade, and the destroyed walker. In the following moments, the 501st made their attack against the Separatist stronghold, as Master Plo and his Wolf Pack attacked it from the other direction.

Taris would soon be in Republic hands again, and the Confederacy would lose another one of their last held planets. Were it not for the declaration of war against the Hutts, or the Hapan onslaught, the Clone Wars would be over in less than a month.

 **...**

The metallic doors to dirty cells inside _Jabba's Palace_ creaked open, as the Hutt crime lord's henchmen escorted Anakin and Jedi Master Quinlan Vos inside. The nikto and weequay men threw the Jedi into the cell, closing the door behind them.

Anakin immediately stood back up, his clothes dirty, and his face roughed up by the beating he had received earlier. The duros bounty hunter Cad Bane, smirked widely, as he stood in front of the cell door.

"Jabba will have an 'audience' with you shortly, but until that; sit back.. these will be your last moments alive, after all..." Bane said with a chuckle, before tipping his signature hat to the young human man, who frowned deeply.

"Oh, I can't wait to find out how he plans to execute us. Feed us to his fat rancor, perhaps?" Anakin asked, defiantly taunting the duros, who chuckled to himself, walking away and shaking his head.

After Bane and Jabba's henchmen had left, the young human Jedi Knight sighed in frustration, as he walked to his kiffar colleague, and sat down next to him on a bench inside the cell. Ahsoka and Aayla had been taken to another cell, that was nearby. As Anakin sighed again, looking down at the sandy ground, Vos hummed quietly.

"I know this isn't exactly relevant right now, but I think that we should talk about what you and Ahsoka were planning..." The kiffar Jedi Master said, which caused Anakin's eyes to widen. He straightened up, biting his lip.

"Uh... does that really matter right now? We're about to be executed by a Hutt slime lord, and you want to talk about me and Ahsoka?" He asked, looking at his Jedi colleague, who silently stared back at him.

"We might as well get it over with, Anakin... you know that I've already figured out, what's going on between you two.." Vos said calmly, which made his human colleague's heart skip a beat. Anakin bit his lip stronger, feeling heat on his face.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, knowingly lying to the kiffar Jedi Master. As Anakin avoided Vos' staring, the kiffar man sighed quietly.

"You know perfectly well, how dangerous affectionate attachments can be for the Jedi. And you are much more than simply attached to Ahsoka... you are in love with her.." The experienced Jedi Master noted, which caused Anakin to silently look the other way. Vos frowned slightly, shaking his head.

"Anakin, do you have any idea what the Jedi Council will say, when they hear about this?" He asked, to which his human colleague scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes.

"Do you think I care, Master Vos? The Jedi Council can go take a hike for all I care..." Anakin replied in a distasted voice. Quinlan Vos raised his eyebrows, before frowning deeper.

"Listen to what you're saying, Anakin! This is your life, for goodness' sake! Do not throw everything you are, everything you have become, just to cling to a doomed relationship!" The kiffar Jedi Master said, raising his voice. Anakin frowned, and gave his Jedi colleague a deadly stare.

"Yeah, it's my life! And what if I decide to spend it with Ahsoka? Will the Jedi force me to stay with the Order or something, huh!? Maybe imprison and betray me, just like they did with her!?" He lashed out at the kiffar man, who stood up, his frown deepening.

"You're the Chosen One, Anakin! You're supposed to destroy the Sith, and bring balance to the Force! You have more responsibility than any other Jedi! Don't throw it all away for something like this!" Master Vos argued back, his voice angry. Anakin clenched his teeth together, and stood up as well, getting right into the kiffar Jedi's face.

"And what if I don't want to be the bloody Chosen One, huh!? I've grown tired of this war, and the bloody Jedi placing me on such a stupid pedestal! Destroy the Sith yourselves.. I want to leave, and live a peaceful life with Ahsoka..." The human man said, defiantly standing up against the kiffar Jedi Master.

"You're abandoning everything you stand for! You're turning your back to your people, Anakin! It's not worth it... she isn't worth all of this!" Master Vos exclaimed, to which Anakin's eyes widened, and he took a step towards the Jedi Master.

"You have no idea about if she's worth it or not! And what about your relationship with Aayla, hm!? You think the Council likes how close the two you are?" He asked the Jedi Master, who inhaled deeply through his nose, clearly getting angrier.

"I know damn well just what I feel towards Aayla; I love her as if she was my own daughter. But I will never let that love get the better of me! The love you share with Ahsoka, will only lead you down a dark path, Anakin; the path to the Dark Side..." The kiffar man explained, to which Anakin only scoffed, looking at his Jedi colleague with a slight smirk.

"Oh, you know all about the Dark Side, don't you, Quinlan? The way I remember it, you didn't turn to the Dark Side because of Aayla, alright.. but for even more trivial reasons..." He said with a devious smirk. The kiffar man in front of him stared at him silently, his eyes wide, and his mouth open.

Before Anakin could do anything further, he suddenly found himself pinned against the stone wall, as Master Vos violently pushed him back. The kiffar man held his younger Jedi colleague against the wall, his gaze filled with fiery rage. Vos lifted his finger up, pointing at Anakin.

"Don't you _**ever**_ talk to me about that again! I made mistakes that I will regret for the rest of my life... but I've tried to make up for it! But don't you ever try to push me, _**boy**_... you have never seen me get real angry..." He warned, breathing slightly heavy. Anakin could almost see Vos' brown eyes turn to a tint of yellow, which told him that he had gone too far. The young human lifted his hands up in calming action.

"Noted... _Master_ Vos..." Anakin said in quieter voice, still making his dislike of the kiffar Jedi Master clear at the moment. Quinlan seemed to calm down, as he sighed deeply, and let the human man go. The kiffar Jedi took a few deep breaths, walking to the other end of the cell, and sat down to calm himself more.

Anakin then sighed as well, and pushed off some dust and dirty on his outfit. As he walked back to another bench to sit down, he could hear echoing footsteps approaching the cell. The human man didn't even bother to look up, as he was sure the approaching person would more than likely be one of Jabba's thugs.

"Well... what do we have here? Anakin Skywalker and Master Quinlan Vos, trapped in a cell, like chained animals.." A distinct female voice said with a slight chuckle. Anakin raised his eyebrows, and looked to the cell door. That voice was far too familiar for him.

As he looked up, Anakin could see the former Separatist assassin Asajj Ventress, standing behind the cell door, an all too amused look on her face. The previously bald _dathomiri_ female now sported a short, silvery hair, that blended in well with her pale skin, and grayish-blue eyes. Ventress was wearing a dark outfit, which looked similar to the one she had worn nine months ago, only this outfit was darker than the previous one.

Anakin had no idea what he should be feeling, seeing Ventress in front of him again. Last time they had been in contact, was when he tried his best to try to prove Ahsoka's innocence of the Jedi Temple bombing, over nine months ago. After Ahsoka had been acquitted, and left the Jedi Order, Anakin had tracked Ventress down, and given her back her lightsabers, which Barriss had stolen from her earlier.

"What? Are you here to gloat, Ventress? I see that you're on Jabba's payroll, or otherwise you wouldn't be here..." The young human man said, to which his old rival laughed quietly.

"And here I thought you were going to ask me to bust you and your Jedi friend out... but I guess not.." Ventress replied, before turning around, and seemingly walking away. Anakin sighed, and quickly got up, walking to the cell door.

"Wait, hold on a second. You actually would help us? You're not working for Jabba..?" He asked, after which the dathomiri woman turned back around, and shook her head with a slight smirk.

"I'm a freelancer, just like most bounty hunters. I did a job for Jabba recently, and I just haven't had the chance to leave yet. Though, when I heard that Bane had caught four Jedi, I had to come see that for myself..." Ventress explained, folding her arms. Anakin hummed quietly in response, leaning against the bars.

"Yeah... they sure did get the jump on us. Ahsoka and Aayla were captured too.. they're in that cell right over there..." He answered, pointing at the cell that was on the other side of the dungeon, behind Ventress' back. The dathomiri raised her eyebrows, as she looked at Anakin.

"I thought she left the Jedi Order... what is she doing here?" Ventress asked, referring to Anakin's former Padawan. The human Jedi Knight smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Through a few coincidences, we ended up meeting again. But that's beyond the point right now... will you help us?" Anakin asked, after which Ventress fell silent for a few long seconds. The dathomiri woman then bit her lip, and nodded.

"Yeah... I guess I have to; wouldn't want you to end up being rancor food.." She answered, a slight smirk appearing on her face. Anakin returned the smirk, rolling his eyes.

"Well, aren't you a sweetheart, Ventress.." He said, winking his eye at the pale skinned woman, whose smile disappeared. Ventress took out one of her lightsabers, and pointed the hilt at Anakin's throat.

"Don't push your luck, Skywalker... you know I can still use these.." She warned, to which her former rival chuckled, and nodded.

"I'd be worried if you didn't. Okay.. so how are we going to go about this?" Anakin then asked, which made his newfound ally bite her lip again, and look around.

"Well... I think I can manage to get your lightsabers back. We'll see what Jabba has in store for you... so until then, just sit back, and I'll do some recon." Ventress replied, looking back at the human, who nodded silently.

"Alright.. we'll see you soon then. Never thought you'd be helping us... I like this new personality you got going.." Anakin said to the dathomiri female, who raised her eyebrows.

"At this rate, I'll revert back to my old self, Skywalker... don't ever get corny with me.." She answered, to which the human man chuckled, and lifted his hands up in playful surrender.

"I promise, I won't do it again. Good luck, Ventress..." Anakin said, before giving another wink to the dathomiri, who rolled her eyes, and slightly shook her head.

"I'm going to regret this..." Ventress said quietly, as she turned around, and walked away from the cell door. As the dathomiri female walked away, Quinlan stood up, and walked next to Anakin, folding his arms.

"Can she be trusted?" The kiffar man asked. Anakin sighed quietly, shrugging his shoulders.

"At this point, we have no options. But I believe she's changed, Master Vos; I think she will come through with us..." He answered, as he turned away from the cell door, and walked back to the nearby bench.

Anakin then sat down again, his kiffar Jedi colleague following shortly after. The two veteran Jedi then waited silently, as Jabba's henchmen would soon come get them, and bring them in front of the Hutt crime lord for punishment.

 **...**

Ahsoka silently looked at the sandy ground, as she sat next to Jedi Master Aayla Secura. The young togruta girl then closed her eyes, as she sighed deeply. The twi'lek Jedi Master placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself for this, Ahsoka... you couldn't have known that this would happen." She assured, to which the young girl sighed again, and shook her head.

"If I wouldn't have kept Anakin in the dark about you and Master Vos, this would have never happened. I let my attachment to him cloud my judgment... I was taught to be better than that.." Ahsoka replied quietly, feeling intense guilt. The experienced twi'lek Jedi Master smiled slightly, and gently rubbed her thumb on Ahsoka's shoulder.

"Remember when we talked about attachments, back when Anakin was badly hurt? I can tell that your attachment to him as only strengthened..." Aayla stated, which made her former Jedi friend sigh again, and nod.

"I... I love him, for crying out loud. I've ruined everything for both him.. and me..." The togruta girl answered, feeling as if she was about to cry. The twi'lek Jedi Master hummed quietly, as she listened to Ahsoka's words.

"You think that the attachment you two share is detrimental for you?" She asked, to which the girl took a deep breath, before letting out a defeated exhale.

"I... I don't know. Part of me wants him to stay with the Jedi, and do what he must... but another part of me just wants him to leave.. and be with me..." Ahsoka replied quietly, letting her head fall down, as she felt despair. Aayla was quiet for a moment, before sighing, and patting the togruta's back.

"Being a Jedi is never easy, Ahsoka. Even though you left us, I know that you try to live by the Jedi Code. And even if you and Anakin shared something more than mere attachment, I'm sure that the Jedi Council will not punish him... but only if he gets back to Coruscant." She explained, which made the young togruta sigh again, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"And I'll have to stay behind..." Ahsoka said quietly, another tear rolling from her eye. Aayla sighed, and nodded.

"You know it's the right choice, Ahsoka. Anakin is arguably the most important Jedi in all of our history; we need him..." She explained, to which the togruta girl took a deep breath, before exhaling long.

"You're not the only ones who need him.." Ahsoka lamented in a quiet voice. The twi'lek Jedi Master next to her bit her lip, falling silent for a few seconds.

"I know it's hard, Ahsoka.. but that's part of being in love. You have to learn to let go..." Aayla answered, to which Ahsoka sighed deeply again.

"I had let him go; I spent nine months being separated from him. But when I found him... hurt and alone.. I... everything came back to me.. and I found myself unable to let him go.. again..." She answered, after which the twi'lek Jedi nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"You were able to move over him once, so you can do it again. After we get out of here, and Anakin comes with us, you can live your life however you want to." Aayla stated, to which Ahsoka scoffed quietly, turning to look at the blue skinned twi'lek.

"And what if he doesn't want to come with you? Are you gonna force him to stay with the Order?" The young girl asked, after which the twi'lek Jedi Master sighed, and shook her head.

"We Jedi don't believe in forcing others to do what we want... but I'm confident that Anakin realizes, just how much we still need him. He will return to Coruscant with us, and you can get on with your life... unless you'd want to return to the Jedi as well.." Aayla answered, which caused Ahsoka to raise her eyebrows, and look at the Jedi Master.

"Return to the Jedi Order? And what would happen to me and Anakin, if I did?" She asked, feeling suspicious. The Jedi Master next to her bit her lip again, falling silent for a moment.

"Well... since it's clear that the two of you share far more than simple attachment, the Jedi Council will make sure that you stay away from each other, so that both of you can focus on your duties..." Aayla explained, to which the young togruta scoffed at, and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah... thought so. Thanks for the offer.. but no thank you, Master Secura. And none of these things will even matter, if we don't get out of here first.." Ahsoka replied, before returning her gaze to stare at the sandy ground, as the twi'lek Jedi next to her fell silent as well.

After a few short moments, Ahsoka could sense someone standing at the cell door. She frowned slightly, and looked up, after which her expression changed completely. It was Asajj Ventress, leaning against the door.

"You just can't help but get in trouble, can you?" The pale skinned woman asked with a slight smirk. Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, and stood up, quickly walking to the door with a surprised expression.

"Ventress? What are you doing here?" She asked the dathomiri woman, who quickly glanced behind her, pointing at the cell at the other side of the dungeon.

"Well, I was about to leave, until I heard that Bane had captured four Jedi at the Grand Arena. I just had a chat with your old master, and decided that I'm going to help you escape." Ventress explained, which made Ahsoka raise her eyebrows further.

"You want to help us? Why..? What's in it for you?" The togruta girl asked, to which her former enemy chuckled slightly.

"I can't help you without wanting something for it? Honestly, I just think dying to a slime like Jabba is insulting, and I'd rather not have you meet your end that way..." Ventress answered, placing her hand on her waist. Ahsoka frowned slightly, before humming quietly, and nodding.

"Alright... I'll bite; how are you going to help us get out of here?" She then asked, after which Ventress let out a quiet laugh.

"I'm working on it; just sit back and be ready... I'll figure out something.. I always do." The dathomiri female said, taking a step away from the cell door. Ahsoka hummed quietly, and leaned on the door's bars.

"Just don't take too long with it; I can't stand this filthy dungeon, or this entire palace..." She complained, to which the pale skinned former Separatist assassin laughed, as she walked away.

"Oh, I'm sorry, princess... I'll make sure to lay down flowers on the ground for you, when you walk out of this palace.." Ventress mocked, as she walked away, which made Ahsoka roll her eyes, as she too turned away from the cell door.

After the dathomiri woman had left, Ahsoka walked back to Aayla, and sat down next to her. The twi'lek Jedi Master then quickly pushed a small button on a device, that was attached to her wrist. The togruta girl raised her eyebrows at that.

"What are you doing?" She asked, to which the twi'lek woman hummed quietly.

"Contacting Bly through this distress beacon. In case that Ventress won't be able to help us, we're going to need reinforcements. Bly and his troops are ready and waiting for orders to attack Tatooine... they'll be here soon.." Aayla explained, as she put away the device. Ahsoka let out a quiet "ah", before leaning back on the bench, her back against the wall.

"Well... let's hope Jabba won't kill us before that.." She said, after which she fell silent, sitting on the hard bench.

Ahsoka prayed silently in her head, that Ventress would be able to come through, and help them escape. She had gotten Anakin, and the two other Jedi Masters in this mess, and she would never forgive herself, if they ended up dying over her selfish need of the man she loved.

 **...**

Clone commander Bly, designation number CC-5052, walked on the bridge of a Venator-class star destroyer, named _Venture_. The veteran clone commander walked up to a bald, bearded human man, who was the commanding officer of the star destroyer.

"Admiral Kilian; General Secura just activated her distress beacon... they've run into trouble.." Bly explained to the aged Republic admiral, who turned around, his hands held behind his back.

 _Shoan Kilian_ was a veteran in the Republic Navy; having served in the military for nearly 35 years. The admiral had commanded more than one capital ships during the Clone Wars. Kilian had commanded the Venator star destroyer named _Endurance_ , when the unaltered clone "son" of Jango Fett; _Boba Fett_ , had sabotaged the cruiser, and caused it to crash on the planet _Vanqor_.

After the destruction of the Endurance, Kilian had commanded a number of smaller assault ships, before finally getting the Venture under his command, and being transferred to serve under Aayla Secura's 327th Star Corps.

"Copy that, Commander. Are your troops ready to invade Tatooine?" The bearded admiral asked, standing straight and professional. The clone commander in front of him nodded, standing in attention and quickly saluting him.

"Ready and able, sir!" Bly answered confidently. That made the admiral smirk slightly, and nod, as he turned towards one of the other officers stationed on the bridge.

"Lieutenant! Relay a message to the rest of the fleet; we are go for Tatooine! Operation Skyhook is under way!" Kilian said loudly, to which the officer answered with a salute, before turning his attention to the communications officers nearby.

After that, the large fleet consisting of five Venator-class star destroyers, and four Acclamator-class assault ships, ignited their engines. The fleet quickly prepared to jump to lightspeed, their destination set to Tatooine. After a moment, the nine Republic ships jumped to hyperspace, beginning the venture to the Hutt controlled desert planet.

 **...**

Obi-Wan staggered back heavily, as a strong blow from General Grievous' lightsabers made him fall back. Sweat rolled down the human Jedi Master's forehead, as he panted heavily, bringing his lightsaber up to deflect two more attacks from the kaleesh cyborg. Him and Grievous had been dueling relentlessly for several minutes now, and neither of them had been able to garner any clear advantage on the other.

As the human Jedi Master fell back a meter or so, the Separatist general chuckled, walking after him. Obi-Wan's varactyl mount, Boga, howled loudly, as her master fell back. The 38 year old man quickly glanced at his varactyl friend, and held his hand up.

"No! Stay back, Boga!" He shouted at the varactyl, that was anxiously pacing around on the balcony, that overlooked the landing pad. General Grievous scoffed in a mocking voice.

"Your pathetic sympathy for the helpless is what makes you weak, Kenobi! The Jedi will always be doomed because of it.." The cyborg general taunted, as he swung his four lightsabers around. Obi-Wan bit his lip, and held his lightsaber's hilt tighter.

"And the selfishness of the Sith will always lead them to failure. But you're not even a Sith, are you, Grievous? You're just a lowly pawn, and Dooku's slave..." He answered, which seemed to infuriate the cyborg.

"After I flay you alive, Count Dooku and Lord Sidious will both see my true potential, and just how dangerous I am to them, and to everyone else in this Galaxy!" Grievous shouted back, as he initiated another attack on the Jedi Master.

The kaleesh cyborg relentlessly struck his blades at Obi-Wan, who deflected most of them, and dodged the others. The human Jedi Master then quickly dodged to the left, moving past Grievous, and getting in behind him. As the cyborg turned around, Obi-Wan swiftly swung his lightsaber, cutting off Grievous' lower left hand. The hand, and the lightsaber being held in it, fell to the ground.

Immediately after that, Obi-Wan jumped back, knowing that Grievous would lunge at him. The cyborg general did just that, but thanks to the human Jedi's quick reflexes, his attacks missed.

"Get back here, Kenobi! You're slippery for a man of your age.." The kaleesh said in his rough voice. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows, as he took steps back, holding his lightsaber in a defensive posture.

"I agree that the beard can fool you, but I'm not _that_ old, General.." He answered to the cyborg, who groaned slightly, as he walked after the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan was quite sure that Grievous was much older than him, being at least in his late forties.

As Obi-Wan fell back more, he suddenly bumped into Grievous' landed starship; the Soulless One. Backed in a dead end, the human Jedi Master had to quickly think of something, as the Separatist general approached him. Grievous swung his three lightsabers around, before moving in to impale his longtime rival.

Just as Grievous brought his lightsabers forward, Obi-Wan jumped to his left, dodging the attack. The cyborg's lightsaber blades impaled the starship's hull, going through the _durasteel_ plating. Obi-Wan once again made his way behind Grievous, swinging his lightsaber around quickly.

Before he could attack, the kaleesh cyborg spun around, slashing with his lower right arm. The attack barely missed Obi-Wan who quickly countered it by cutting off the hilt of the lightsaber, that Grievous held in his lower right hand. The Jedi Master then stepped back again, as the cyborg dropped the broken half of his destroyed lightsaber hilt on the ground. Even though Obi-Wan had destroyed two of Grievous' weapons, he still had two more to go.

"I'm getting tired of this running around..." The cyborg general complained, as he stared at the human Jedi Master, who was standing a few meters away from him.

After a short moment, Obi-Wan could hear the roaring sounds of a powerful engine. Suddenly, a _HMP Predator_ droid gunship appeared above the small sinkhole, and began to decrease its altitude, approaching the landing pad. The gunship aimed its laser cannons at Obi-Wan, whose eyes widened, and his heart began to race in his chest.

The HMP gunships were fast, and armed to the teeth; utilizing heavy laser cannons, lighter anti-personnel machine guns, and extremely powerful missiles. The ship approached the landing pad, aiming its weapons at the Jedi Master, as General Grievous chuckled quietly.

"Time to end this little game, Kenobi.." The cyborg said, moving his lower right hand to his waist, and grabbing his modified _DT-57_ heavy blaster pistol, called " _Grievance Striker_ ".

As Grievous opened fire on Obi-Wan, the HMP gunship did the same. The human Jedi Master was busy with deflecting the blaster bolts from Grievous' pistol, that he couldn't react fast enough to dodge the gunship's attack. The droid gunship opened fire with its three laser cannons, which shots struck the ground near the human Jedi Master.

Obi-Wan desperately jumped back, trying his best to avoid being hit. The heavy blaster shots hit the rocky landing pad, sending small parts of it flying into the air in debris. The human Jedi managed to fall back near the entrance to the landing pad, when the gunship suddenly fired two missiles at him.

Obi-Wan could barely avoid the missiles, as he jumped forward, away from the entrance. The warheads hit the landing pad, and caused a large explosion, which shook the entire construct. As Obi-Wan stood up from the ground, the landing pad began to shake again, and rumble. The human man figured, that the droid gunship had damaged the landing pad's supports, and now the entire construct was about to collapse. General Grievous seemed to realize this also.

"You idiot! Useless machine!" The cyborg shouted at the gunship, which seized firing upon its Jedi target.

As Obi-Wan got to his feet, the landing pad shook violently. The supports gave in completely, and the structure began to collapse. Both the human Jedi, and the Separatist cyborg attempted to run to the exit, but to no avail.

Just as he was about to reach the entrance, and jump off the collapsing landing pad, Obi-Wan was suddenly jerked back. Grievous had grabbed him by his robes, and now pulled him back towards him. Only a second later, the entire landing pad collapsed; rumbling down towards the bottom of the small sinkhole. Obi-Wan, Grievous, and the starship Soulless One, all fell to the small lake at the bottom of the sinkhole, along with the destroyed landing pad.

As Obi-Wan's varactyl mount Boga looked on helplessly, the landing pad, and everything on it, smashed into the lake, causing a massive splash at the bottom of the sinkhole. The female varactyl howled, and called for her master desperately, as the landing pad and Grievous' starship sunk into the lake. Boga didn't get any answer, the sinkhole falling dead silent.

The HMP droid gunship silently floated in the air for a few moments, before beeping to itself, and turning around. The gunship lifted off, flying up and away from the sinkhole; rejoining the battle raging in the skies over Utapau.

Boga let out a long, hooting howl again, calling for Obi-Wan, but received nothing. The varactyl then frantically turned around, and ran back into the cave system, from where she and her human master had arrived to the landing pad earlier. After that, the sinkhole was dead silent, the lake at the bottom of it having calmed down as well, with nothing moving on its surface.

 **...**

The rowdy and loud noises of the dozens of people inside Jabba's Palace's throne room were almost deafening to Ahsoka. She clenched her teeth together, as one of the Hutt crime lord's henchmen pushed her forward, her hands cuffed behind her back. The young togruta, along with her former master Anakin, and the two Jedi Masters Vos and Aayla, were being escorted in the palace's throne room, being surrounded by all the patrons of the Hutt crime lord, who were gathered in the large, yet cramped room.

The massive slug-like crime lord, Jabba the Hutt, lazily sat on his "throne", hulking over his four captives, who were brought before him. The near 600 year old Hutt laughed in his low, menacing voice, as he laid his large eyes on the Jedi. Anakin had a deep frown on his face, holding back pure rage and hatred that he felt against the Hutt crime lord. Jabba held his arms wide, chuckling.

"Bo shuda, Jeedai. Kelea-yee monto chisi mah bunko." The Hutt crime boss said in his low-pitched voice.

Anakin scoffed quietly, having understood what Jabba had said in Huttese, as he was a fluent speaker of the language. Ahsoka however, had no idea what was being said, even though she understood some languages other than basic. A _3PO-series_ protocol droid stood next to the Hutt crime lord, acting as his translator.

"The mighty Jabba greets you, and welcomes you to his glorious palace, Jedi." The droid stated in a feminine synthesized voice. Anakin rolled his eyes in distaste, shaking his head.

"Get to the point, Jabba... we all know you didn't bring us here to offer pleasantries.." The young Jedi Knight said, after which one of the Hutt's henchmen shoved him, which motioned Jabba to lift his hand up to calm his thugs.

"Gomo bonta min chaduuka... orabaatuna nih beshka.." The Hutt crime lord answered, his voice a bit quieter. Anakin again rolled his eyes, and sighed in frustration.

"The mighty Jabba takes no pleasure in this, but it is necessary." The protocol droid next to Jabba translated. As soon as the droid finished speaking, Anakin took a step forward.

"Stop wasting our time, Jabba! If you want to kill us, then just get it over with! I'll kill your pet rancor with my bare hands, if I need to.." The human Jedi said defiantly, which made the Hutt crime lord in front of him laugh.

"Trono... trono Jeedai. Mah moba an chisi rancor com azalus.. mut jee lay kalan'e crispan nee choo..." Jabba answered with a laugh, to which Anakin frowned slightly. Ahsoka could only guess, what the Hutt crime lord had in store for them.

"The mighty Jabba says that his fearsome and glorious rancor is dangerous, but he has come up with another way to carry out your execution.." The protocol droid translated, which caused Ahsoka's heart to beat faster. Fear started to get the better of her.

"Mi ten'a kava killee dre male... mi ten'a dav'la cheba Grene Bit cha Carkoon. Uba da nemba al'e de sarlacc ama nechu jajeman abban..." Jabba answered, laughing afterwards, which was also echoed throughout the throne room, as many of his followers and patrons laughed as well. Anakin scoffed as well, having understood what the crime lord has said.

"The mighty Jabba has decreed, that a fitting way to execute you, will be to feed you to the Great Pit of Carkoon; where you will be slowly digested by the sarlacc for a thousand years..." The translator protocol droid explained, which made Ahsoka widen her eyes. Master Vos next to her hummed quietly.

"That sounds unpleasant..." The kiffar Jedi Master noted quietly. Ahsoka swallowed audibly, her heart racing in her chest.

The _Great Pit of Carkoon_ was the home to Tatooine's largest, and only known _sarlacc_. The sarlacc was a species of large, carnivorous animals, that resided all over the Galaxy; usually finding homes in pits and canyons, like on the Dune Sea. An adult sarlacc would burrow itself in sand, or terrain in general, and be forever in place; catching and eating anything, and everything, that would come across it. The creatures possessed several tendrils and tentacles, which they would use to catch, and drag prey into their massive beaked maws.

Ahsoka had known about the Great Pit of Carkoon for almost the entirety of her time living on Tatooine, but she never had come across it before this. She however knew just how fearsome and disgusting the sarlacc could be, which only increased her stressfulness.

"Cha skrunee da pat, sleemo!" Anakin then shouted at Jabba, which made the Hutt crime boss chuckle, and grab a live fish from a bowl next to his massive body.

"Trobunee na, Skywalker... chaba nu kama no.. dodre'pala cha, Jeedai..." The Hutt answered, after which he bit off the head of the fish, munching away as his prisoners looked on with disgust.

"The execution will take place in a few hours. Say your goodbyes, Jedi... it's the last chance you'll get." The translator droid announced, after which the court was adjourned.

As the nikto and weequay henchmen took a hold of the Jedi, and began to escort them out, Anakin glanced at his former Jedi Padawan. Ahsoka looked at him as well, her expression making it clear, that she was scared.

"Don't worry, Soka... we'll get out of this.." He assured to the young girl, who bit her lip, her heart still racing.

"Can you promise that, Ani?" She asked, as the Hutt crime lord's thugs escorted them towards the exit. The human Jedi Knight smiled slightly, nodding at his togruta lover.

"I can, beautiful. Ventress will come through... I promise that.." Anakin replied, knowing that putting faith in Ventress was a risk, but he had a good feeling that the former Separatist assassin and Dark Acolyte, had truly changed.

As the three Jedi, and the togruta girl were escorted out, the duros bounty hunter Cad Bane, who was leaning against a wall nearby, chuckled and saluted the captives. Anakin glanced at the duros man with a deep frown, itching to attack him right there and then.

"So long, Jedi..." Bane said in a mocking voice. The duros bounty hunter had used that line many times before, when he had gotten himself involved with the Jedi.

"Don't get too comfortable there, Bane... you'll get yours as well.." Anakin shot at the duros, threatening him. Bane laughed in response, as Jabba's henchmen walked the four captives out of the throne room, and back to the dungeon.

After the Jedi had been taken away, the throne room returned back to normal; musicians continuing to play their songs, dancers taking on the floor, and started to entertain Jabba's guests, while the enormous Hutt continued his snack time.

 **...**

The small foundry section of the Jabba's Palace was filled with utility droids, and the Hutt's servants, many of whom were either jawas, or the porcine _ugnaughts_. R2-series astromech droid, R2-D2, silently spun his dome head, looking around the room. The small droid had been captured along with his Jedi owner, and was brought to the foundry, where he'd be repurposed to serve Jabba.

As R2 looked around, he suddenly noticed something surprising. The dathomiri bounty hunter Asajj Ventress, walked into the foundry, looking around as well. As soon as she spotted the droid, Ventress made her way to him. R2 started beeping frantically, still thinking that Ventress was an enemy of his owner, Anakin.

"Keep it down, will you? I'm here to help, droid.." The woman said, as she knelt down next to the astromech droid. R2 beeped and chirped a bit again, showing his confusion about Ventress' motives.

"Don't ask.. I don't really know why I'm doing this either..." She then said, to which R2 chirped as a response. The dathomiri woman then took out four lightsabers from her belt. The weapons belonged to Anakin, Ahsoka, Quinlan and Aayla.

"I managed to steal these from one of Jabba's thugs. Keep a hold of them; I heard that you'll be serving drinks on Jabba's sail barge... it'll be the perfect cover for you to smuggle in these.." Ventress explained, as she held the lightsaber hilts in her hands.

R2 chirped in acknowledgment, and opened a latch in his body. Ventress placed the lightsabers into the holder, after which the droid closed the hatch, concealing the weapons inside him. The dathomiri woman then sighed quietly, and nodded.

"Alright... I will signal you, when the time comes for you to bring in those lightsabers. Until then.. just try to act natural..." Ventress suggested, which made the astromech droid let out a sarcastic chirp. As she stood up, the dathomiri woman chuckled.

"Act as natural as a droid can be... don't get sarcastic with me, little thing." She said to the small droid, who beeped and spun his dome head around. After that, Ventress looked around herself quickly.

"Okay.. just be ready when the time comes, droid; Skywalker and the rest of the gang will need both of our help." She said to R2, who beeped in agreement. After that the former Separatist assassin quickly patted the droids head, before starting to make her way out of the foundry.

As Ventress walked out of the foundry, R2 stayed still, waiting for Jabba's droid handlers to come to him, and "repurpose" him to serve Jabba. The astromech droid didn't expect the droid handlers to have very advanced reprogramming tools, which would make it easy for him to fool Jabba's thugs into thinking, that they'd actually be able to reprogram him.

 **...**

The sounds of muffled explosions echoed in the halls of the _Unifar Temple_ ; the royal palace of Onderon, in the planet's capital city of _Iziz_. Sitting on the former monarchic throne, Prime Minister Luxentius Bonteri held his hand against his head, his other hand sitting on the throne's armrest, shaking.

Being only 20 years old, the responsibilities and burdens of leading an entire planet had sometimes gotten the better of Lux, but he staunchly believed, that the extensive reforms he had imposed on his homeplanet had bettered the life of his fellow _onderonians_ , and brought the planet to a new age of prosperity and security.

As the explosions and the sounds of blaster rifle came closer to the palace, Lux's hands began to shake more. The black haired young man clenched his teeth together, leaning a bit forward on the throne.

"Saw!" Lux yelled loudly, which echoed in the royal hall. After a moment, his closest advisor, and the leader of his bodyguard regiment, _Saw Gerrera_ , ran across the hallway towards the throne. The 23 year old onderonian man stood in attention, and saluted his liege and good friend.

Saw and Lux had fought side by side over a year ago, when they were part of the rebel movement, resisting the Separatist occupation of Onderon. The two of them, along with Saw's younger sister _Steela_ , had lead the rebel movement in victory against the Confederacy, although due to the help of the Republic.

During the final battle in the war of liberation, Steela had lost her life, which had caused a rift between her brother, and her love interest Lux. In time, the two had however worked on their differences, and had reestablished their friendship. Ever since then, Saw had served Lux as his advisor, and loyal bodyguard.

"Are the troops holding, Saw? What's going on out there?" The young prime minister asked his friend, who bit his lip, and shook his head.

"No... the Hapans are pounding us to the wall. The clones aren't doing any better either; the entire fleet defending Onderon has been destroyed..." Saw explained, to which Lux answered with a sigh, and leaned back on his throne, his hands shaking more.

"How the bloody hell are they doing it? They're slaughtering us by the thousands..." He said to himself, sweat starting to roll down his forehead. Saw looked dumbfounded, panic starting to fill his head.

"I have no idea, Lux. The men seem to just.. lose their will to fight..." The man explained, to which the prime minister clenched his teeth together, not sure what to do.

"Lux, I still recommend that we fall back through the secret passages, and hitch a ride off Onderon. We can't win this battle; they're literally right at our doorsteps!" Saw then said, which made his friend squeeze his hands into fists.

"I fought for weeks to liberate this planet from the Separatists... and now I'm supposed to leave my people behind?" He asked, to which Saw scratched the back of his head, and sighed.

"It's the only chance for us to get out of here alive... we need to-" The young man said, but was interrupted by sudden loud bangs. He and Lux turned their attention towards the main doors, which moved slightly, whenever the loud bang was heard. The Hapans were trying to break in.

A few clone troopers, stationed to defend Onderon, stood near the door. The clones immediately made their way behind the door, preparing their weapons. After a few seconds, the doors were suddenly blown open, the clones being blaster away with them.

Lux's heart began to race, as several heavily armored Hapan soldiers rushed in. Saw's eyes widened, as he witnessed that, and immediately signaled several of his fellow bodyguards to him.

"Go! Protect the Prime Minister!" He yelled at the guardsmen, who all rushed at the Hapan troopers, firing their guns.

The following firefight was short, as the onderonian bodyguards were quickly eliminated, managing to take only a few Hapan soldiers with them. Saw grabbed his automatic blaster pistol, and took a few steps forward, bravely firing away at the enemy, and managing to kill several of them.

Suddenly, the Hapan soldiers stepped aside, revealing a lightly armored hapan female in the middle of their group. As Saw aimed his pistol, the woman brandished an yellowish-orange lightsaber blade. The 24 year old soldier fired at the apparent Jedi, who deflected all of his shots.

After shooting a few more times at the hapan female, one of Saw's deflected shots flew back at him, striking his pistol, and blowing it up. The dumbfounded onderonian man took a step back in surprise, before he was suddenly lifted into the air with the Force. The lightsaber wielding hapan woman levitated Saw in the air for a few seconds, before abruptly jerking him towards her, and impaling him with her lightsaber.

As Lux watched in horror, his good friend's motionless body was then pushed through the air, landing at the feet of the stairs that led to his throne. He looked down at Saw's dead body, seeing the smoking hole, where the lightsaber had impaled the skin.

The Hapan soldiers, as well as the mysterious woman, then approached the Prime Minister of Onderon, who was left all alone in the hall of the royal palace. Lux quickly looked to his right, and pressed a small button on his throne's armrest. A small hatch opened, revealing two small holdout blaster pistols. The young man grabbed one of the pistols, and opened fire on the approaching Hapans.

Lux managed to hit one of the soldiers, killing him instantly. The lightsaber wielding woman however effortlessly pulled the pistol out of his hands; effectively disarming him. As the dozens of soldiers then aimed their rifles at him, the Prime Minister gave up, and slowly put his hands up.

The hapan female smiled, and put away her lightsaber. She walked to the feet of the stairs, stepping over Saw's dead body. Lux took a single step down the stairs, his hands still up in surrender.

"What is the meaning of this attack? What do you gain by attacking Onderon, Queen Mother..?" He asked the hapan woman, who looked at him with a calm expression. Lux knew who she was, having quickly put the pieces together in his head, figuring out that she was the ruler of Hapes.

"Prime Minister Bonteri! What a pleasant surprise to see that you didn't turn tail and run.." Ta'a Chume said in a polite voice. Lux raised his eyebrows.

"I swore to protect the people of Onderon no matter what. I would never run away from my duties.." He said professionally which caused the Hapan Queen Mother chuckle.

"Well, aren't you a big boy now, ruling an entire planet. Your mother would be proud... or would she? Your family notably betrayed the Republic, and joined the Separatists.." Ta'a Chume taunted, to which Lux's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath.

 _Mira Bonteri_ ; Lux's mother, had been murdered by Count Dooku, which had pawed way for the young man to leave the Confederacy behind him, and pursue his own goals, which eventually led him to rejoin the Republic. However, talking about his dead mother was still a thing, that Lux felt being extremely insulting and inconsiderate.

"I'm a proud servant of the Republic, and will fight to death to protect it from aggressors. Now... tell me what is the meaning of this attack.." He said, still showing confidence and bravery in front of the intimidating woman, who frowned slightly.

"I'm making a statement, Lux. My mother was a close acquaintance to your father and mother... so believe me when I say this; I don't hate you.. but you're on my way..." The Queen Mother answered, before suddenly using the Force to grab Lux, and push him violently against the throne.

As she slowly walked up the stairs towards Lux, the young man was tightly pressed against the throne, the Hapan Queen Mother also choking him through the Force. Ta'a Chume got to the top of the stairs, and stood right in front of the prime minister, who was slowly dying due to asphyxiation.

"I've already destroyed Tanaab. Destroying the Onderon's military bases will put the Republic on notice. None will stand in my way, after I demonstrate my power here. And unfortunately for you, I need someone to help me make that demonstration..." She explained to the young man, who grabbed his throat, desperately gasping for air.

"You're... insane..." Lux managed to say, while losing his consciousness. The Hapan Queen Mother chuckled, continuing to choke him.

"Insane? Maybe in some eyes... but in my eyes, I'm simply determined to change the Galaxy." Ta'a Chume explained with a devilish smile. After a short moment, she stopped choking Lux, letting him go. The young man coughed violently, gasping for air for a few moments.

"You're no use to me dead just yet, so be thankful for my mercy. I wouldn't get my hopes up though, if I were you..." She said, as she slowly turned around, and walked down the stairs, leaving the coughing man behind her. The Queen Mother looked at his men, signaling them to grab Lux.

"Take him prisoner; we need him alive for a few hours still. Once you've finished with the remaining defenders, send a message to the city's residents; I want them gathered in front of the palace..." Ta'a Chume ordered, to which one of her men saluted her, and nodded.

"By your command, my Queen!" The hapan man said, after which he and several other soldiers made their way to Lux, and took a hold of him, also putting handcuffs on him.

The Queen Mother then nonchalantly walked out of the ruined palace, entering the nearly destroyed city of Iziz. The Hapan troops made quick work of the remaining onderonian defenders in the following minutes; effectively wiping out the entire military stationed on the planet.

The Hapes Consortium had once again scored a decisive win in their war against the Republic. The officials in Republic worlds hadn't yet even figured out, that they were under attack by the Hapans, which only made the aggressors' work easier, as they could ambush the unsuspecting worlds near their borders.

Ta'a Chume's daring war against the Republic was going well, and the Hapan morale could only be reinforced, as they took more and more planets under Republic jurisdiction, or destroyed their fleets. Only time would tell, if the Hapan progress could ever be halted.


	10. Chapter 9: Point of No Return

**Chapter 9: Point of No Return**

 **Nine months earlier...**

The sun was setting on Coruscant, making the skyline look beautiful. The last rays of sunlight shined upon the main entrance of the Jedi Temple, forming long shadows behind the massive statues of the Jedi Order's founders.

Ahsoka Tano walked towards the long set of stairs, that led out of the Jedi Temple and its premises. Tears ran down the young woman's face, as she kept on walking, not looking back.

"Ahsoka! Ahsoka, please! Wait!" Anakin's voice echoed behind her. Ahsoka closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as she stopped.

She had only moments ago walked away from the Jedi Council, as they had offered to take her back to the Order. She had refused that offer, and decided that she no longer belonged with the Jedi.

Recently a bombing in the Jedi Temple had sent the entire Order into chaos. The citizens of the Republic were getting angry at the Jedi, and blamed them for the attack, as well as the entire war, that had ravaged countless of worlds. The culprit was caught, but that launched a set of events, that had brought Ahsoka to the point of no return.

Having been framed for the Jedi Temple bomber's murder, Ahsoka was imprisoned. Knowing that she was innocent, she couldn't stand by and watch, as the Republic would bring her before a court, and declare her guilty. To avoid that, Ahsoka had escaped, and was determined to find that real culprit, and prove her innocence.

After being ambushed by the real murderer, Ahsoka had been captured again, and this time, was brought before the Jedi Council, before her trial by the Republic. The Jedi had completely abandoned her, not willing to take the risk of angering the Republic's populace even further. Having no other options, the Jedi Council had formally expelled Ahsoka from the Order, and handed her over to Republic officials.

It was only thanks to Anakin's efforts, that the real culprit was found, and she was found innocent. But the damage had already been done. Not only had the Jedi Council abandoned Ahsoka, but one of her best friends, Barriss Offee, was behind the murder, and her framing. She had lost both a good friend, as well as all of her confidence in the Jedi. Not able to trust them anymore, Ahsoka had decided to leave the Jedi Order, much to the dismay of her now former master; Anakin.

Ahsoka took a deep breath, turning around, to see the human man stop in front of her. She looked up, and stared into Anakin's eyes. Her heart ached, as she could clearly see the pain and dismay in her former master's eyes.

"Ahsoka.. you... you can't do this. The Jedi Order is you life... you can't just throw it all away!" Anakin said, desperately trying to change his Padawan's mind. Ahsoka sighed long, knowing that this was completely destroying the man she loved.

"I don't have a choice, Anakin... I can't be part of an order, that would abandon me.." She answered, to which her master bit his lip, and squeezed his hands.

"You're making a mistake, Ahsoka... please consider what you're doing.." Anakin said, which made his togruta apprentice sigh again, and rub her forehead.

"Maybe I am making a mistake... but I have to figure it out on my own. I need time... I need to clear my head, and make sense out of this all. And I need to do it without the Jedi... and without you..." Ahsoka replied quietly, holding back tears, even though her cheeks were already wet from sobbing.

She knew that leaving would be devastating for Anakin, but she felt like there was no other choice. Ahsoka knew, that even though she loved him, this would be best for both of them for the time being. Anakin looked at her for a few short moments, before closing his eyes, and sighing in defeat.

"I.. I understand. I know how hard staying with the Jedi can sometimes be... and I too have debated leaving many times before..." He stated very quietly, looking down at the ground. Ahsoka bit her lip, feeling a single tear roll down her wet cheeks.

"I know... and.. Ani?" She said, which got Anakin's attention. As he looked at her, Ahsoka gently touched his cheek, looking deeply into his blue eyes.

"Whatever happens... always remember, that what we had... was real..." She whispered, her thumb gently rubbing the human Jedi Knight's cheek. A single tear rolled out of Anakin's eye, as he silently stared into Ahsoka's eyes.

Before he could answer anything, opening his mouth, Ahsoka suddenly placed her finger on Anakin's lips, keeping him quiet. She shushed quietly, before gently pulling him closer. She softly pressed her lips against his, giving him a long, and gentle farewell kiss. Tears ran down her cheeks, as Anakin pressed himself tighter against her, returning the kiss.

After a moment, the secret lovers parted from each other. Another tear rolled down Anakin's cheek, as he silently stared at the young togruta before him. Ahsoka sighed, and touched his cheek again.

"I'm so sorry, Ani... goodbye.." She said, before slowly turning away from Anakin. Ahsoka took the first steps away from her former master, and quietly started to sob.

As she began to walk down the stairs, Anakin took a step after her, trying to reach out with his hand. The human Jedi Knight then clenched his teeth together, and stopped, giving up. He closed his eyes, and sighed audibly, before touching his forehead, and looking down at the ground. He had lost her, and there was nothing he could do about it anymore.

For the next several moments, Anakin silently watched, as his former Padawan walked down the hundreds of stairs, that led away from the Jedi Temple. The human man felt nauseous; he had no idea about how he could handle this situation. His worst fears had come true, and it was causing him to lose all hope in life.

After a moment, Anakin could hear footsteps behind him. He sensed the presence of his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and figured that he was coming to check up on his former Padawan. As Anakin looked down at his hand, holding Ahsoka's Padawan braids, Obi-Wan came to stand next to him.

"Anakin.. I know that this must be horrible for you. But believe me, that you don't want to give in to despair. We can help you counter the feelings, that are now overwhelming you..." The human Jedi Master explained. Anakin looked up, his heart beginning to pound. He shot an angry glance at his former master.

"Help me? What did the Jedi do to help Ahsoka, huh!? Even you did nothing to defend her! You all abandoned her, and now she's gone! Why should I waste my time by listening to you!?" He asked in an outraged voice. A sense of worry was clear in Obi-Wan's expression, as he placed his hand on his former Padawan's shoulder.

"Anakin... I know you're angry, but please.. do not give in to that anger. It will lead you to a dark place.. one that you might not return from..." The bearded human man said, to which Anakin scoffed quietly.

"First you push my Padawan to her breaking point, and cause her to leave our Order. And then you have the audacity to lecture me about it. Don't insult me, master... I've had enough.." He answered, after which he turned around, and started to head back into the Temple. Obi-Wan touched his shoulder again, getting his attention.

"Anakin, please... don't leave me out.. I can help you." He assured, to which his former Padawan frowned deeply. Anakin looked straight into Obi-Wan's eyes, his expression showing anger and hatred.

"I don't want your damn help! Just leave me alone.." The Jedi Knight answered, before walking away from his master. As Obi-Wan silently watched his apprentice go, sadness filling his face, Anakin suddenly turned back around, and glared at him.

"I will not forget this, Obi-Wan... I will **never** forget this..." He stated threateningly, before turning away again, and walking back inside the Jedi Temple.

Obi-Wan felt how his heart skipped a beat, as he heard his former Padawan's words. This all had taken a turn for the worst, and the Jedi Master and Council member was getting more worried. Through unfortunate events, his apprentice seemed to slowly turn more and more against the Jedi Order, and that was something that Obi-Wan feared more than anything.

Anakin was the strongest of them all, and they needed him. Having Ahsoka leave would surely bring animosity between him, and the Jedi Council. Obi-Wan could only pray that his former Padawan would one day forgive him, and the Council, and continue to work with them in their mission to destroy the Sith. As the prophecy has foretold, Anakin would be the one to bring an end to the Sith, and to that end, he would need to stay in the Order.

Letting out a long sigh, Obi-Wan glanced at Ahsoka, who was now walking along the hundreds of meters long stretch of walkway, that led further away from the Jedi Temple. The bearded Jedi Master stroked his chin, before turning around, and following his former apprentice back into the Temple.

 **Present day...**

The volcanic planet Mustafar, located in the Outer Rim Territories, near the historic major trade route; the _Hydian Way_ , had been a major source of rare minerals to the _Techno Union_ commerce guild, who employed the planet's native species in the hundreds of mines built on the world.

Torn in the gravitational pull between the two gas giants _Jestefad_ and _Lefrani_ , Mustafar's climate had morphed into a barren rock, filled with highly active volcanoes and lava rivers. From these rivers, as well as from massive underground cave systems, the native _mustafarians_ mined rare minerals and gems, which the Techno Union processed inside large facilities built on the planet. The Techno Union would transport hundreds of thousands of tons of minerals from Mustafar each year, making them huge profits in the Galactic market.

Through the thick clouds of volcanic ash, a _Delta-7B Aethersprite_ -class light interceptor flew towards the numerous volcanoes on the planet surface. The ship was heading to a large mining facility, that was under the ownership of the Techno Union, and the rest of the Separatist Alliance. The _Klegger Corp Mining Facility_ was the current headquarters, and safe haven for the Separatist Council, whom had been on the run for a little while now, as their rebellious separatist movement was slowly falling to pieces.

The Delta-7B fighter soon touched down on the landing pad of the mining facility. The interceptor was painted in a dark grey color, sporting Republic insignia on it. A grey and black colored _R3-series_ astromech droid moved its dome head around, as the fighter's cockpit's dome opened, allowing the pilot to climb out of the craft.

As her black boots touched the metallic landing pad, the mirialan Barriss Offee; Darth Sidious' newest Sith apprentice, looked around the area she was in. The immense heat of the planet's surface was already making drops of sweat roll down Barriss' forehead, which caused her to put the dark hood of her outfit over her head, to cover herself from the heat and the ash, at least for a little.

The mirialan woman then looked back at the ship she had just arrived on, noticing the astromech droid attempting to move. Barriss lifted her hand up, signaling the droid to stop.

"Stay with the ship, R3... I'll be right back.." She said to the droid, which beeped in an affirmative response.

After that, Barriss set her eyes on the nearby mining facility again, letting out a quiet exhale. She knew what her mission was, and there was no turning back to her. Her Sith Master, Sidious, had sent her to assassinate the entire Separatist Council, in order for the Confederacy to surrender, and drop out of the war. This was only the first step in the Grand Plan, which Lord Sidious had been scheming for decades.

As a small burst of lava exploded on a nearby river, landing small droplets of it on the landing bad, Barriss began to walk towards the Klegger Corp Mining Facility's entrance. The Separatist Alliance leaders were no doubt expecting her, as Darth Sidious had informed them earlier, that his newest apprentice would come and protect them. This was of course a lie, to keep the Separatist Council contempt, which would only make Barriss' job easier, as she would catch them by complete surprise.

In the next moments, the mirialan Sith apprentice walked across a long bridge built over the massive lava rivers. She got to the main entrance, and walked through the door, which automatically opened for her. Barriss was now inside the mining facility, walking along the dark, dimly lighted corridors. Her destination was the main control room, where the Separatist Council was located in.

After walking for a few long moments, she arrived to the end of a long hallway, which led to another room. As she approached the door, Barriss could hear muffled voices talking in the next room. Her heartbeat increased, causing her to take a few deep breaths. After she had gotten ready, the mirialan exhaled long, and opened the door.

Walking through the doorway, Barriss entered the main control room. Her heart only began to pound more in her chest, increasing her anxiousness. The dozens of people in the room went silent, as they laid their eyes on the young mirialan woman.

The entirety of the Separatist Council was there, including the likes of Nute Gunray, who was the Viceroy of the Trade Federation. Other leaders such as Emir _Wat Tambor_ of the Techno Union, and _San Hill_ of the _InterGalactic Banking Clan_ , were in attendance as well, which was perfect for Barriss. The neimoidian Viceroy humbly bowed his head, as he noticed the mirialan entering.

"Welcome, Lady Offee... Lord Sidious informed us of your impending arrival. If I may ask.. what is the meaning of you coming here to protect us?" Nute Gunray asked, to which Barriss let out a quiet hum.

"It's very simple actually... here.. let me show you..." She answered snidely, which caused many of the Separatist Council to raise their eyebrows in confusion.

After that, the mirialan woman silently moved her hand, and closed all the doors to the main control room with the help of the Force. As the people around her looked confused, not having idea about what was going on, a wide smirk appeared on Barriss' face.

She then used the Force to call her lightsaber hilt from her belt, which landed in her right hand. Her heartbeat had calmed down for now, as she was immersing herself in the Dark Side of the Force. Barriss took a deep breath, before igniting her weapon, and opening her eyes. She quickly looked at the members of the Separatist Council around her, who seemed slightly startled now. They had no idea what was about to happen...

 **...**

A herd of _banthas_ slowly moved across the vast sand dunes of Tatooine, letting out their distinct, slightly shooting howls. Banthas had not originated from Tatooine, but since they had been introduced to the desert planet thousands of years ago, they were now one of the most common animals found there. Though mostly used as a working animal, or to produce dairy products, thousands of banthas were not completely domesticated, and instead roamed the deserts of Tatooine wild.

As the bantha herd continued their roaming, several repulsorlift skiffs, as well as a large sail barge, moved past the docile animals, and further in to the Dune Sea. The _Ubrikkian Industries_ luxury sail barge was the _Khetanna_ ; Jabba the Hutt's personal sail barge, which he used to traverse across Tatooine's deserts. The Hutt crime lord also often used his sail barge to take his prisoners to be executed at various dangerous locations on Tatooine. The Khetanna was heading towards one of those locations at the present moment.

On one of the _Bantha-II_ cargo skiffs, the young togruta Ahsoka Tano, had her head laid low, as she looked down at the skiff's floor. Her hands were cuffed, and one of Jabba's weequay henchmen held a blaster pistol against the back of her head. Next to her, the young human man, and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, calmly looked around, as the convoy approached a large depression in the sand dune. The human man had his hands cuffed as well, but he didn't seem worried in the slightest.

"Everything's gonna be fine, Snips... don't worry.." Anakin said to his former Padawan, who looked up at him.

"Excuse me for not being exactly optimistic, Anakin... we're about to be fed to a freaking sarlacc after all.." Ahsoka answered to him, which made the young man chuckle.

"It'll be fine, Ahsoka. Ventress will help us, and we can take out these criminals. I'll look forward to slicing Jabba open with my lightsaber..." He stated, which caused Ahsoka bite her lip, as she was getting a bit worried about him.

"Don't give in to your anger, Ani... you might not be a Jedi anymore, if we get out of here.. but you should always remember the things they have taught us..." She said, to which her former master sighed, and nodded.

"Yeah.. I know..." Anakin answered, before looking around the skiff again, and eyeing the three guards, that were escorting them. He also glanced at the skiff flying next to theirs, where Jedi Masters Quinlan Vos, and Aayla Secura were being held.

After a moment, the three Bantha-II skiffs, as well as Jabba's sail barge, arrived to the Great Pit of Carkoon; the home of Tatooine's only known sarlacc. No one knew exactly where the sarlaccs had originated from, but many of the Galaxy's scientists guessed that the creature species came from the Unknown Regions.

Sarlaccs were parasitic creatures at the early stages of their life. Small sarlacc larvae often travelled aboard cargo ships through space, from where they ended up all around the Galaxy. Sarlaccs would move under the surface of planets, digging through the dirt like worms. In time, as they grew bigger, they would burrow themselves to a fixed location, and allow prey to come to them, which they could then simply catch with their tendrils, and eat.

As the repulsorlift craft hovered around the sarlacc pit, Anakin turned to look at the sail barge. A moment later, Jabba's translator protocol droid walked on the top deck, and stopped near the railing.

"By the order of Jabba _Desilijic Tiure_ , the head of the Desilijic Tiure crime family, and the de facto ruler of Tatooine, you are hereby sentenced to death by being devoured. Have you got any last words, before being fed to the sarlacc, Jedi?" The feminine programmed droid asked, talking through a loudspeaker. Anakin scoffed audibly, and took a step towards the edge of the skiff.

"Jabba! You know you won't get away with this! Save us all the trouble, and let us go. If you don't... I'll kill you myself!" He shouted at the sail barge, inside which the hutt crime lord was located, in a luxurious banquet room, where most of his court were watching this event as well.

Anakin could faintly hear the low-pitched laugh of Jabba, as well as the taunting laughs of his court members, including the highly annoying laugh of the _kowakian monkey-lizard Salacious B. Crumb_ , who was Jabba's court jester. The human Jedi Knight frowned, anger filling him.

"You have decided to use your last words poorly, Jedi. Take him to the plank!" The protocol droid ordered, after which a nikto henchman grabbed Anakin's arm, and pushed him over to a small plank, that was placed right over the sarlacc's pit.

After stepping on the plank, Anakin had a final look at the surrounding area. He looked up to the sail barge's deck, and could see the former Separatist assassin Asajj Ventress, standing next to his faithful astromech droid R2-D2. The young human man smiled, and nodded at the two, signaling them to be ready. He then looked at the nearby cargo skiff, where his Jedi comrades were being held at. Anakin nodded at Quinlan and Aayla as well, who returned the nod, being ready for combat.

After that, he turned his head around, and looked at Ahsoka, who was standing nearby. She looked at him, her expression making it clear, just how worried she was. Anakin smiled comfortably, wanting to ease the girl's worries.

"I love you.." He said quietly to the togruta, whose eyes widened slightly after hearing that. Ahsoka then blushed slightly, and sighed.

"Don't let those be the last words you say to me, Ani..." She answered, to which her human lover chuckled, and shook his head.

"I won't..." Anakin assured, winking his eye at her. Ahsoka let out another sigh, this one filled with love, as she nodded at him.

The human Jedi Knight then turned back around, and walked over to the edge of the plank. He looked down at the sarlacc pit, seeing the terrifying creature open its large beak, and let out a distinct, slightly whining howl. The sarlacc's tendrils moved, trying to reach as far as they could, as the creature no doubt smelled that prey was nearby.

"Push him into the pit." The protocol droid ordered, after Jabba had shouted the order in Huttese.

The nikto thug behind Anakin then started poking him with a _vibro-ax_ , attempting to push him into the sarlacc's pit. The human man smirked slightly, and stepped off the plank. As he fell, Anakin suddenly turned around, and grabbed the plank's edge, before pulling himself up, and leaping high into the air. As he did a flip in the air, R2 opened a latch on his body, and shot a lightsaber hilt out of it.

Anakin landed back on the cargo skiff, right behind the nikto thug, who turned around. The human Jedi smirked, and strongly kicked the henchman in the gut, making him fall back, and off the skiff, and right into the sarlacc pit. As his lightsaber landed in his hands, Anakin then turned around, and activated his weapon.

The weequay henchman holding Ahsoka by gunpoint threw her to the side, and attempted to aim his weapon at the attacking Jedi, who quickly cut the pistol's barrel in half. Anakin then used the Force to push the weequay off the skiff as well, making him fall into the sarlacc's maw as well. The last thug, another nikto, also attempted to attack Anakin, but was quickly cut down by the Jedi's lightsaber.

After that, Ahsoka got up from the skiff's floor, as R2 shot out another lightsaber hilt. She looked up, and saw that the hilt was flying right for her. She quickly jumped into the air, and did an athletic flip, as she grabbed the hilt from midair. Landing back on the skiff, she now had her old Jedi lightsaber in her hands.

Anakin whistled in a slight joking manner, as he then chuckled, and walked over to the young togruta. Ahsoka rolled her eyes slightly, knowing that her human lover liked what he had just seen. She activated her lightsaber, and quickly used it to cut the cuffs, that tied Anakin's hands together. He did the same to the cuffs holding Ahsoka's hands as well, setting the two of them free.

Afterwards, the human Jedi Knight quickly glanced at the skiff, where Quinlan and Aayla were being held on. Jabba's thugs on the skiff began to fire upon him and Ahsoka with their blaster rifles, while one of them used the vehicle's controls, to steer the skiff away from the two freed lightsaber wielding assailants. Anakin then glanced over at Ahsoka, and quickly tapped her shoulder, and got her attention.

"I'll free Quinlan and Aayla, you go take out that other cargo skiff, alright?" He asked, to which the young togruta nodded her head.

"You got it, master!" She answered, immediately after which her eyes widened, as she realized what she had just said. Anakin had heard it too, and was now looking at her, a sweet smirk on his face.

As Ahsoka bit her lip in slight embarrassment, her former Jedi Master chuckled, before leaping high in the air, and towards the cargo skiff with the two other Jedi. Ahsoka sighed quietly, after which she focused her attention to the other skiff nearby. The togruta girl took a deep breath, and also leaped through the air, using the Force to give her more leverage.

The nikto, weequay and _rodian_ thugs fired relentlessly upon the leaping girl, causing Ahsoka to use her lightsaber skills to deflect the shots, as she descended towards the cargo skiff. She performed a strong leaping strike, as she came down, and cut one of the weequay thugs with her lightsaber. As the henchman fell on the floor dead, the rest of his group took a step back, continuing to fire upon Ahsoka. She deflected the shots, and proceeded to attack the thugs, and cut them down as well.

Anakin in the meanwhile made quick work of the henchmen on the other cargo skiff, killing them effectively. He then cut the handcuffs off his two Jedi colleagues, before signaling his astromech droid R2 again, who still stood on the sail barge's deck. As the droid shot out two more lightsaber hilts, the human Jedi Knight turned his attention to the two Jedi Masters in front of him.

"Ready to do some damage, masters?" He asked with a slight smirk, as the Jedi Masters grabbed their lightsaber hilts, that fell from the air. Master Vos chuckled, activating his green-bladed weapon.

"You even need to ask? Let's take them down.." The kiffar Jedi said, swinging his lightsaber around. As Aayla activated her weapon, both Anakin and Vos jumped up to the sail barge's main deck.

Over a dozen thugs working of Jabba made their way up to the top deck, their weapons at the ready to kill the Jedi. As Anakin and Vos began to cut the henchmen down, Asajj Ventress, who stood nearby, noticed another small group of thugs approaching the Jedi from the other direction.

The dathomiri woman hummed quietly to herself, before suddenly taking out her two lightsaber hilts. Ventress activated the weapons, red colored blades brandishing out of the hilts. She then quickly cut off the group, that tried to flank Anakin and Vos, and attacked them. The thugs got disoriented, as they had not expected Ventress to turn on them, which caused the group to be ineffective at fighting the _dathomirian_ female, who effortlessly slaughtered them, utilizing her skills in the Jar'Kai style of lightsaber combat.

A lone rodian thug then ran towards her, firing the blaster pistol in his hands relentlessly. As Ventress deflected the shots with her lightsabers, the twi'lek Jedi Master Aayla Secura jumped up to the deck, landing behind the rodian. The female Jedi immediately grabbed the thug using the Force, and threw him over the railing, causing him to fall to the sandy ground, and roll into the sarlacc pit.

Ventress quickly glanced at Aayla, giving her an appreciative nod. The two of them had fought each other more than once during the war, and now fighting side by side must have felt weird for them both.

As the two groups of Jedi continued to battle Jabba's forces on the sail barge, Ahsoka took the controls of the now empty cargo skiff that she stood in, and steered the vehicle towards the Khetanna. The togruta girl piloted the skiff near the sail barge's hull, intending on having the vehicle be used for their escape, after her allies would be ready to leave.

She then looked up, and could see her secret lover Anakin ruthlessly cut down the hutt crime lord's thugs. Worry started to fill her again, as Ahsoka witnessed the brutality the human man utilized against his enemies. She understood how angry he was, but she also knew just how dangerous that anger could be. Ahsoka could only hope, that she could calm down the man she loved, and move him completely back to the light again. She didn't want him to be a Jedi, but she never wished him to turn away from their teachings either. The Jedi taught important things, and that was something that the young togruta could never deny.

 **...**

A dark cave next to the water filled bottom of a sinkhole on Utapau laid eerily empty, as only water droplets from the rocky and moist ceiling fell to the ground. The silence was broken by a loud splash, as a human man swam to the surface of the sinkhole's watery bottom. The man gasped loudly, taking in a long breath of air.

Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi grabbed the edge of the cave's stone floor, and pulled himself into the cave. The completely drenched man panted heavily, having been under the water for far too long. Obi-Wan coughed up some water, as he rolled further into the dark cave. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath, and sat up.

He still had his lightsaber in his hands, deactivated to avoid being damaged by the water. While some Jedi lightsabers could work under water, most didn't, and this was the case with Obi-Wan's weapon. He sighed audibly, and stroked his wet beard, standing up a moment later.

The human Jedi Master then looked around, seeing that the dark cave only grew more darker, the longer it went. Obi-Wan exhaled long, scratching the back of his wet neck. Just as he was about to walk further into the cave, a low rumbling noise got his attention. He turned to look behind him, and could see the nearby water starting to tremble.

Suddenly, the water exploded in a huge splash, as the huge metallic body of General Grievous leaped from it. The cyborg roared loudly, as he jumped into the cave, activating his two lightsabers. Obi-Wan gasped, and quickly jumped back, as the Separatist general brought his blades down, and struck the rocky floor. The human man rolled back, and activated his own lightsaber as well, brandishing its blue blade.

Grievous then lunged at him again, savagely swinging his lightsabers at the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan did his best to either deflect or dodge the raging cyborg's attacks, while also looking for an opening that he could use to his advantage. As water dripped from their wet bodies, Grievous angrily kept attacking, striking his lightsabers at Obi-Wan like a crazed animal.

The glow of the lightsabers were the only light in the dark cave, which only increased the disorientation Obi-Wan was feeling, as the blades swung wildly around. After a few sets of attacks, Grievous struck his two blades against his human opponent's weapon, locking the three blades in a struggle of physical power.

"This cave will be your final resting place, Kenobi! After I flay you alive, I'll take your lightsaber, and use it to finish off Skywalker... unless he's already been executed by the Hutts!" Grievous taunted, chuckling while pushing his lightsabers down, and more against Obi-Wan, who was starting to be overwhelmed.

"You'll find that killing me won't be so easy, General. But failing to kill me, and now my former Padawan seems to be a habit for you..." The Jedi Master replied, smirking ever so slightly, even though he was getting exhausted from the fight.

General Grievous got even more infuriated by that, and begun to pound his lightsabers against Obi-Wan, who could only barely deflect each attack. The human man had to think of something quick, or else he'd end up being cut down. As Grievous struck his left lightsaber down, Obi-Wan made his move, and rolled to the side.

The Jedi Master quickly spun around, and attempted to slash Grievous, as he had moved in behind him. The cyborg general however suddenly turned around, and blocked the attack with one of his lightsabers. As Obi-Wan was distracted by holding his lightsaber against one of Grievous', the cyborg suddenly attempted to impale the human with his second weapon.

Obi-Wan gasped, and could barely dodge the lightsaber blade, as he leaned his body backwards just enough for it to miss. Immediately after that, he once again moved behind Grievous, trying his best to outmaneuver the big and slow cyborg. General Grievous then turned around again, and seemingly moved to slash his offhand lightsaber at his Jedi opponent.

Obi-Wan had expected this however, and swiftly swung his lightsaber down, and cut Grievous' weapon hilt in half. Down to only one lightsaber, the cyborg quickly initiated another attack, not willing to give Obi-Wan any advantage. The human Jedi Master however could easily dodge the attacks, that the kaleesh cyborg attempted to land on him. Grievous' skills with using only one lightsaber weren't anything to boast about, even if he was an expert fighter in more ways than one.

As the cyborg struck at Obi-Wan once again, the human man quickly blocked the strike, and proceeded to press on his own attack. With a swift and efficient thrust, Obi-Wan was able to get closer to Grievous, and suddenly impale him through his chest plate. The human Jedi Master's lightsaber blade went through the Separatist cyborg's chest, impaling the inner parts of his cybernetic body.

Grievous groaned in pain, as well as seething anger. Obi-Wan looked at his opponent, his eyes widening, as he realized that his attack wasn't killing the general. Before he could react further, Grievous let out an infuriated groan, and strongly hit Obi-Wan with his arm, sending the Jedi Master flying a couple of meters back.

As the human man fell on the rocky floor, Grievous groaned again, and pulled the Jedi's lightsaber out of his chest. The cyborg then threw the weapon away, and begun to walk towards the downed Obi-Wan. As he approached the Jedi Master, Grievous suddenly groaned again, and fell on one knee. Even though not fatal, the lightsaber had done some damage to the Separatist Supreme Commander.

Obi-Wan saw this as his opportunity, and quickly jumped up. He then lunged at Grievous, calling his lightsaber back to him with the Force. After the weapon landed in his hand, the Jedi Master activated it, and attacked the cyborg general. Grievous wasn't fast enough to block the attack, which allowed Obi-Wan to once again thrust his lightsaber through the cyborg's metallic chest, this time using much more power to do it.

Grievous let out a pained groan, staggering back, as Obi-Wan pushed his lightsaber's blade deeper. The pain caused the general to drop his own lightsaber to the ground, the hilt causing an echoing clank, as it fell on the rocky floor. Obi-Wan breathed heavily, as he stared at the cyborg, who also turned his gaze towards him. Letting out a quiet sigh, the Jedi Master looked slightly down.

"Rest in peace... _Qymaen_... May the Force be with you.." He said quietly, sadness apparent in his voice.

After a single second, Obi-Wan then pulled his blade out of Grievous' chest, before quickly swinging around, and slashing the cyborg's head off his shoulders. After the fatal _sai cha_ move, the Separatist general's motionless body fell to the ground. Obi-Wan panted slightly, as he looked how his opponent's body laid on the ground, unmoving.

General Grievous, at long last, was dead.

Obi-Wan then deactivated his lightsaber, before falling on his knees. The exhausted Jedi Master panted, feeling extremely weak, and lightheaded. After so many years, the Separatist Supreme Commander was dead. The deadliest "Jedi Killer" in over a century, had long last been defeated.

Obi-Wan sighed deeply, letting his lightsaber fall on the ground, as he covered his face, and calmed his breathing. He felt relief, as well as sorrow. He had wanted to destroy Grievous for so long, but now that he had finally done it, he felt sadness, and slight regret. A Jedi would always avoid killing, even when their opponent was as vile and destructive as Grievous. Mercy and compassion were the keystones of the Jedi way of life, and not following them was always hard for the strongest, and purest of Jedi in the Order.

Obi-Wan also felt sorrow, for he knew what Grievous' history was. Born as _Qymaen jai Sheelal_ , Grievous was raised in the traditional ways of a kaleesh warrior, on the planet of _Kalee_. Losing everything in the destructive _Huk War_ , the young Qymaen had taken the title and name of "Grievous", to forever remember the pain the war had brought him, as well as the love that he had lost.

Years later, the Separatists had caused Grievous to be mortally wounded in a staged accident, in order to make him their slave. The kaleesh warrior's body was rebuilt, morphing him into a cruel, savage cyborg. Hate and anger filling his heart, Grievous found new purpose in destroying the Jedi, and bringing pain to everyone who opposed him, or his new master, Count Dooku.

It was for these reasons, that Obi-Wan regretted killing his longtime rival. He knew it had to be done, but it still didn't feel much better. After a moment, the Jedi Master took a deep breath, and stood up. He took his own, as well as the other lightsabers from the ground, and Grievous' body, and placed them on his waist.

"I will give take these to the graves and memorials of those Jedi, that you stole them from... they can finally rest in peace.." Obi-Wan said quietly, staring at the headless body of Grievous.

As he noticed the cyborg's head nearby, he pondered on whether he should take it with him, as evidence of Grievous' defeat. Before he could decide, the distinct hooting howls of a varactyl got the Jedi's attention.

Obi-Wan turned around, and could see his faithful steed and companion Boga, running at him from the depths of the cave. Joy filled his heart, as he smiled, and greeted the female varactyl with a gentle pat.

"Good girl, Boga!" He said with a slight laugh, as he petted the large varactyl, who responded with happy howls. After that, Obi-Wan quickly gazed at Grievous' head again. Shaking his head, as shivers were sent down his spine, he made his way on top of Boga's back.

"That would be too uncivilized..." He said to himself, after which he noticed the blaster pistol, that was attached to the cyborg's waist. Humming quietly, the Jedi Master pulled the pistol to him with the Force, knowing that it was highly modified and customized.

"Still uncivilized, but this will do.." Obi-Wan noted with a slight smirk, knowing that the custom blaster pistol of Grievous, as well as his stolen Jedi lightsabers, would be evidence enough of his destruction.

After that, he took Boga's reigns, and steered the varactyl to face the cave's inner parts. The Jedi Master then patted his trusty steed, to which Boga let out a happy purr.

"Come on, Boga.. we still have a battle to win." He said to the varactyl, who responded with an acknowledging howl.

After that, Obi-Wan kicked his feet against Boga's sides, which made the varactyl move quickly into the dark depths of the cave. As she had found him by herself, Obi-Wan was certain, that Boga would find a way out of the cave system, and back to the cities of Utapau, where the battle was still raging. Even though the Separatist army had lost its Supreme Commander, they still were not defeated.

 **...**

Loud screams of fear and agony filled the rather small control room of the Klegger Corp Mining Facility, as Barriss Offee savagely massacred the members of the Separatist Council, as well as their aides and bodyguards. The young mirialan woman cut down the numerous Separatist leaders with her Sith lightsaber, not showing any mercy.

As she used her lightsaber to brutally slice open one of the neimoidian delegates, Barriss then spotted the _InterGalactic Banking Clan_ chairman San Hill nearby. The large _muun_ fell on his knees, begging for his life. The Sith apprentice didn't care, and killed the terrified banker with one savage strike.

A single _OOM-series_ security droid shot its blaster rifle at the mirialan woman then, positioning itself in front of the _Commerce Guild_ President, the _gossam_ female _Shu Mai_ , and her aide, _Cat Miin_. Barriss effortlessly destroyed the meager droid, and proceeded to attack the two gossams. Cat Miin attempted to flee, but was quickly cut down by the mirialan, who then turned her attention to Shu Mai, who was beheaded before she had the time to even react.

After that, not many of the Separatist Council were left, as most of them now lied dead on the floor. The Archduke of Geonosis, Poggle the Lesser, along with his geonosian aide, as well as the _koorivar_ Magistrate of the _Corporate Alliance_ _Passel Argente_ , and his chief aide _Denaria Kee_ , were all attempting to flee the control room, banging their hands against the sealed doors.

Barriss smiled devilishly, and quickly made her way to the group of four. Her first victim was the koorivar female, Denaria Kee, who tried to shield herself with her arms. This was useless, naturally, as the mirialan Sith apprentice simply slew the representative of the Corporate Alliance, cutting a deep slice all across her upper body. Next, out of pure desperation, the geonosian aide of Poggle the Lesser attempted to attack her with his bare hands. Barriss quickly slashed the geonosian's upper body, after which she skillfully performed the sai cha move, decapitating her target.

She then lunged at Magistrate Argente, and impaled him through his back. The koorivar male groaned in pain, before collapsing dead on the floor. The Archduke of Geonosis, Poggle the Lesser, then turned around, and attempted to plead for his life in the geonosian language. Barriss frowned deeply, and looked upon the sad fragile old man with disgust. She still remembered the horrors she went through, when the geonosian "brain worms" had taken over her mind, nearly three years ago. Without hesitation, the mirialan woman cut the Archduke into pieces, brutally chopping his head and arms off.

Barriss then took a deep breath, her eyes glowing reddish-yellow, as she was fully immersed in the Dark Side of the Force. She then turned, and focused on the last people alive in the room. The neimoidian delegate and closest advisor to Nute Gunray, _Rune Haako_ , stood nearby, and slowly stepped back. The man's entire body was shaking from fear.

"No.. please! Stop!" The scared neimoidian man pleaded, as Barriss approached him.

The mirialan Sith apprentice ruthlessly punched Haako in the face with her fist, making the neimoidian fall back, and lean against a holographic display table. As Haako attempted to regain his footing, Barriss swiftly drove her red-bladed lightsaber through the man's chest, also pushing him tighter against the table. Haako gasped audibly, as the mirialan woman pulled her lightsaber out of his body. The neimoidian then collapsed on the floor, still leaning against the table, as he died.

Grinning like a crazed murderer, Barriss then turned her attention to the other end of the room, where the _skakoan_ Foreman of the Techno Union, Wat Tambor, stood near the doorway to the nearby conference room, where the Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray had fled to.

The Sith apprentice then quickly leaped over the hologram projector table, and made her way to the skakoan, who slowly rolled back, using his pressure suit's controls to fine tune his air intake, among other things. Like all skakoans, Tambor would die without his pressure suit, as the pressure of the planets other than his homeworld, would cause his body to literally explode, or cause it to be crushed.

"Wait! I'll give you anything! Anything you want! There must be something you desire!" Tambor pleaded, bargaining for his life. Barriss rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

"Shut up.." She replied, as she suddenly slashed the skakoan "emir's" chest, causing critical damage to his pressure suit.

As pressurized air hissed out of the suit, Barriss witnessed how the skakoan man helplessly attempted to fine tune his suit to keep himself alive. Tambor instead died painfully, as his entire body was crushed by the air pressure. The mirialan Sith apprentice didn't care to look upon the dying skakoan however, and she simply used the Force to throw his broken body aside.

After that, Barriss looked at the room in front of her. The Viceroy of the Trade Federation, Nute Gunray, had his back against the windowed walls of the conference room, while a neimoidian guard was positioned in front of him. As the mirialan entered the room, the neimodian guardsman opened fire, blasting away with his E-5 blaster rifle. Barriss smiled, and simply deflected the shots, which bounced back. One of the deflected shots hit the neimoidian guard's face, which killed him instantly.

Left alone in the room, Gunray backed away, leaning against the wall more, his hands shaking uncontrollably. Barriss approached him, swinging her lightsaber around. She smiled devilishly, as she moved in to kill the last Separatist leader alive.

"No! Please! Why are you doing this!? The war is over.. Lord Sidious promised us peace!" The neimoidian viceroy begged, which caused Barriss to chuckle.

"This was part of my master's plan all along, Viceroy... you have fulfilled your purpose.." She replied, to which the neimoidian in front of her gasped quietly.

"But... but we've done everything that was asked of us! How can you betray us like this, after using us for so long?" Gunray asked, fearing for his life. The mirialan woman shrugged her shoulders, a smug smile on her face.

"You were simply pawns for us, Viceroy. You've fulfilled your duties, and now we have to tie up loose ends.." Barriss explained, which only caused the neimoidian to look even more desperate.

"No.. please, don't! I'll do anything!" Gunray pleaded, to which Barriss chuckled at.

"Oh, I'm sure you would... but I have no need for you in any way.." She answered, rejecting everything that the fearful viceroy could offer her.

After that, Barriss used the Force to pull the scared neimoidian to her. She drove her lightsaber through Gunray's body, impaling him. Immediately afterwards, the mirialan Sith apprentice then pushed the neimoidian viceroy away from her, using the Force. Gunray's body smashed through the nearby window, after which it fell to the massive lava rivers down below. Barriss could feel the intense heat coming through, as the window was smashed open.

The mirialan woman took a deep breath, and deactivated her lightsaber. She opened her eyes after a moment, which glowed in an even deeper color of reddish-yellow. She was completely immersed in the Dark Side, and it filled her with so much power. Barriss placed her lightsaber hilt back on her waist, and took a moment to just stand still silently, and take in all the intense feelings, that filled her head.

After a few long moments, she then headed back to the main control room, where the dozens of victims of her massacre lied dead on the floor. Barriss knew that her next objective was to inform her Sith Master of the successful mission. The young woman was eager to hear the satisfaction and pleasure in her master's voice, as she would tell him, that the Separatist Council had been eliminated. This was only the beginning of something great, and Barriss knew, that she would be part of it all, and that filled her with a sense of pride.

 **...**

A nikto thug yelled orders in Huttese, motioning three of his comrades nearby to move out of the cramped banquet room of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge, the Khetanna. As the four henchmen ran towards a corridor, that had the stairway leading to the top deck of the sail barge, two lightsaber wielding assailants cut them off.

Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, and his newfound ally, former Separatist and Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, quickly killed the thugs with their lightsabers. After the armed henchmen had been dealt with, the duo entered the banquet room, where Jabba and his court were trapped in.

The hutt crime lord's court members were all in panic, trying to cram themselves together in a small pack, as the two Force users approached the center of the room. Jabba, being as large as he was, could not move from his pedestal, and instead looked around nervously.

As Anakin approached the hutt crime lord, the small and pesky kowakian monkey-lizard Salacious B. Crumb jumped from behind Jabba, and attacked the human Jedi, latching onto his face. Groaning in annoyance, Anakin grabbed the annoying little pest, and threw him towards Ventress, who finished the kowakian monkey-lizard off, by cutting the sentient, but somewhat primitive creature in half. After witnessing his court jester die, Jabba opened his big mouth.

"Choba! Jedi poodoo! Chamra'kan ama ni chobra den!" Jabba shouted in anger, though fear was also apparent in his voice. Anakin frowned, and swung his lightsaber around, tightly holding on to it.

"Shut you fat mouth, Jabba! This is for all the people, whose lives you've ruined!" The young man proclaimed, raising his lightsaber, and readying to execute the crime lord.

Before he could kill Jabba, Anakin was suddenly yanked back by Ventress, who pushed him back. As he was pushed down, Anakin could hear a distinct beeping sound.

"Look out!" The dathomirian woman shouted, bringing the human Jedi Knight on the ground.

A second later, an explosion shook the entire room, and filled it with smoke, fire and debris. After a moment, Anakin and Ventress coughed heavily, sitting up from the floor. They could notice that most of the members of Jabba's court had died in the blast, with only a few people staggering towards the exit. Jabba himself looked to be slightly wounded, still trapped on his seating pedestal.

As he stood up, and also helped Ventress on her feet, Anakin could see the twi'lek advisor of Jabba, _Bib Fortuna_ , stagger towards the two of them, blood pouring out of his mouth. Before the twi'lek man got any closer, he was suddenly shot in the back. As Fortuna fell dead on the floor, an armed figure walked through the thick smoke, approaching the two Force users.

As the smoke cleared, Anakin and Ventress could now see the duros bounty hunter Cad Bane, walk towards them, with his pistols at the ready. The human man quickly figured out, that the explosion was Bane's handiwork, which made the duros bounty hunter seem even crazier than usual, as he too had been lightly wounded by the grenade explosion. The duros man swiped some dirt off his dustcoat, and hat, as he quickly glanced at his hutt employer.

"Consider this my resignation from you service, Jabba... it's high time for me get out of here.." Bane said, his voice eerily indifferent. Jabba shouted in anger, chastising the duros bounty hunter for killing most of his court, as well as his closest advisor. Bane didn't seem to pay attention, and instead stared at Anakin and Ventress.

"Trust me, Skywalker.. I would love to shoot you full of holes... but I have places to be. So long.." The duros bounty hunter said, giving a small salute to the two. As Bane turned around to leave, Anakin frowned, and went after him.

"Oh, no you don't!" He said loudly, charging at the duros man.

Without even looking back, Bane threw a small explosive device to the ceiling of the banquet room. As he activated the small rocket boosters on his boots, Bane then detonated the mine. The explosion, though small, managed to damage the ceiling enough, to make it collapse on top of the Jedi Knight.

As Anakin looked up, and saw the debris falling towards him, he was yanked back again, though this time by the use of the Force. Ventress pulled him back, saving him from the collapsing ceiling. Lying on the floor again, Anakin looked up, and could see his former rival offer her hand.

"That's the second time I've saved you in the past two minutes! You'll owe me after this, Skywalker.." She said, rolling her eyes, as she helped her human ally up.

After that, Anakin turned his attention back to Bane, who flew out of the room's window, using his rocket boosters. Groaning in frustration, the Jedi Knight shook his head, and picked up his lightsaber hilt from the floor.

As fire spread in the destroyed banquet room, Anakin and Ventress noticed, that Jabba was now completely trapped under some debris, and was unable to move. The hutt crime lord cursed loudly, attempting to move the debris out of his way. Anakin sighed, as he had wanted to kill the hutt for so long, but now realized, that Jabba was going to die either way.

Ventress then touched his shoulder, motioning him to come with her, as the fire spread further in the room. She and Anakin then left the crumbling banquet room, and headed up the stairwell, back up to the top.

They'd need to finish off Jabba's remaining thugs quickly, and make their escape, as the sail barge would more than likely be destroyed in the following moments. The banquet room was directly above the barge's engines, which would most certainly explode, as soon as the fire spread to them. And the amount of fuel kept in the Khetanna's fuel pods could result in a huge explosion, one that would blow the entire sail barge sky high, and everyone aboard it.

 **...**

Kriza Willsaam looked down on the marbled floor of the grand staircase in front of the Unifar Temple, in Onderon's capital city of Iziz. The young human woman had her hands cuffed, and was being held by the large cyborg bodyguard of the Hapan Queen Mother; Draco S'Krill. The human cyborg grunted quietly, as he took a stronger hold on the young Jedi Padawan.

As flocks of birds flew over her, Kriza then looked up, and could see hundreds, if not thousands of onderonians, having been gathered around the marketplace in front of the Unifar Temple. They had all come to see, what was to happen to their prime minister, Lux Bonteri, who had been captured in the battle earlier.

Ta'a Chume, the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, known to few as Kayla Ni'Korish, stood next to the knelt down Prime Minister of Onderon, looking upon the thousands of people in the area. The beautiful hapan female held her hand up, looking strong and determined. Several camera droids also floated near the scene, recording every second of what was happening.

"People of Onderon, hear me! I am Ta'a Chume, the Queen Mother of the Hapes Cluster! You might be thinking, why have I attacked your beautiful world? Why have I ravaged the Republic forces protecting Onderon?" The Queen Mother spoke, her green eyes gazing upon the rather scared looking onderonians.

"The Republic has failed you, my dear subjects! The Republic failed all of us! The corrupt leaders of this decadent government has only brought death and suffering to its people! I will end the years of warfare, that have ravaged so many worlds... and I will punish those who are responsible!" She continued, her voice loud and strong. The people of Onderon looked at each other, their expressions scared, and slightly confused.

"But fear not, my new subjects! None of you will ever be harmed under my rule, so long as you stay calm, and let us take care of you. But the people currently in charge of you... they have caused this!" Ta'a Chume declared, after which she stepped nearer to Lux, and knelt down slightly.

"Your Prime Minister Lux Bonteri is so easily manipulated, that he has changed his alignment more than once during the Clone Wars. He and his family were loyal Republic citizens at first, just like all of you. But then they were manipulated by Count Dooku, and joined the Separatist, after which they handed your planet to the droid army, and usurped the throne from King Dendup!" She said loudly, which was now met with some booing. The Queen Mother knew, that most onderonians had not yet forgotten, how the planet had been handed over to the Confederacy without a fight.

"After his mother was murdered, Lux here flip flopped, and joined a resistance movement. That very resistance movement liberated Onderon from the Separatists, and brought your planet back to the Republic. While most of you are happy for his efforts to reinstate the dethroned king... I see a problem with it all.." She explained, falling silent for a few seconds, before continuing.

"After King Dendup died, rather than holding an election to decide the next ruler of Onderon, he instead changed your planet's laws completely, and instated himself as the new Prime Minister of Onderon, and therefore rule your planet. And what has Lux Bonteri done with his power?" Ta'a Chume continued, standing up and spreading her arms again.

"He turned your beautiful planet into a Republic staging ground! He sold you out to get power from the corrupt Supreme Chancellor! And don't kid yourselves; Prime Minister Bonteri has already risen up in the eyes of Palpatine, and his lackeys!" She proclaimed, her breathing becoming slightly heavier.

"He would have turned the entire moon of Dxun into a Republic stronghold! He brought war here, more than once! He, and others like him are the reason why I have arrived, and why I have destroyed every Republic fleet and army, that has stood before me!" The Queen Mother shouted, grabbing her lightsaber hilt from her belt. The hapan female then held her weapon high, and looked straight at the camera droids.

"And know that this... is only the beginning!" Ta'a Chume proclaimed, activating her lightsaber. As the yellowish-orange blade brandished from the hilt, the Queen Mother slowly brought the blade down, and nearly touched Lux's neck, who was kneeling down. The young man was breathing heavily, and clenching his teeth together.

"I'll take good care of your people, Lux... you can rest easy. Say hello to your parents from me.." She said quietly, after which Lux closed his eyes, and sighed long, holding his head down, as he accepted his grim fate.

The Queen Mother then raised her hands again, holding her lightsaber tightly. Kriza looked away, and closed her eyes, not wanting to see any more death. After a moment, Ta'a Chume brought her blade down, and beheaded the young Prime Minister of Onderon, as the camera droids recorded the whole moment.

Loud gasps were heard in the audience of the thousands of onderonians, after which the marketplace fell silent. The entire area was eerily quiet, as the head of Lux Bonteri rolled down the dozens of stairs. His headless body collapsed on the floor, no blood coming out, as lightsabers usually cauterized the wounds they cut.

Kriza opened her eyes after a moment, and looked towards Ta'a Chume again, who stood over the dead body of her latest victim. The woman took a deep breath, deactivating her lightsaber, she then looked at the cameras, as well as the people of Onderon.

"Change begins right here... right now.." She announced, before placing her lightsaber back to her waist, and walking over to her squads of soldiers. The Queen Mother then glanced at her cyborg servant, as well as Kriza.

"Take Kriza inside the palace. The rest of you.. scatter the rabble... and then clean up this mess.." She ordered, after which her men saluted her, and did as she asked.

As the squads of Hapan soldiers walked down the stairs, and proceeded to scatter the thousands of people out of the marketplace, Draco S'Krill grabbed Kriza's hand tighter, and began to escort her back to the Unifar Temple, where the Queen Mother was heading to as well.

In the following moments the area in front of the former royal palace was cleared of people, and the camera droids flew away as well, heading for their controllers. The entire event had been recorded, and it was now only a matter of time, before it would be broadcasted all around the Galaxy.

Luxentius Bonteri was dead, and the government he had worked so hard to reform, laid in ruins now. Onderon had fallen into Hapan hands, and the Republic would face stiff resistance, if they'd ever decide to attempt to retake the planet. The Queen Mother would likely not even give them then chance, however, as she was determined to move further into Republic territory, and seize their strongholds and planets.

Coruscant was in her sights, and she would stop at nothing in order to reach the galactic capital. There were still a dozen more people, who Ta'a Chume was hell bent on "punishing". Chancellor Palpatine was one of them, and the young, yet powerful Queen Mother would not stop, until she stood over the corpse of the Republic's decadent leader.

 **...**

A weequay henchmen of Jabba the Hutt shot his blaster rifle wildly, before being cut down by a green lightsaber blade. The kiffar Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, killed the last of the hutt crime lord's thugs on the deck of the Khetanna. As the fire from the banquet room spread to the top deck, making the sails catch fire, Vos bit his lip, and glanced at Aayla, who stood near a railing.

The sound of rocket boosters got the kiffar Jedi Master's attention, and he turned around to see Cad Bane flying over the deck. The duros bounty hunter suddenly plunged down, and began to shoot at Quinlan, who deflected the shots with his lightsaber. Bane landed on the deck, and quickly aimed his wrist launcher at the kiffar man. Suddenly, fire spit out of the launcher, which caused Quinlan to jump back, as he avoided the flames.

Some of the fire managed to latch onto the kiffar man's robes, however, which made him back further off, and focus on putting it out. Bane then turned his attention to Aayla, who had just spotted him. Before the twi'lek Jedi Master could advance towards the duros bounty hunter, Bane opened fire with his two pistols.

Aayla did her best to deflect all the shots, but the sheer rapidness of the bolts fired from Bane's pistols soon overwhelmed her. As she went to deflect one shot, the duros bounty hunter quickly fired another bolt, which went to the opposite side of the twi'lek's body. The shot hit Aayla in her shoulder, which caused her to groan in pain, and stagger back. As she hit the railing behind her, Aayla went over it, and fell off the Khetanna's deck. Quinlan witnessed that, and his eyes widened.

"Aayla! No!" The kiffar man exclaimed, thinking that his former Padawan had just fell to her death.

Enraged, Quinlan lunged at Bane, raising his lightsaber high in the air, posed for the kill. The duros bounty hunter reacted quickly, and activated his rocket booster boots, and took off from the deck. As Bane fired upon him relentlessly, Quinlan was forced to back down slightly, or otherwise he'd face the same fate as Aayla.

At the same time, Anakin and Ventress arrived to the top deck, escaping from the burning banquet room. The human Jedi Knight immediately noticed Bane, who was shooting at his Jedi Master colleague. The duros man noticed Anakin approaching him, which made him use his second pistol to shoot at the human man, who deflected all the shots with his lightsaber.

After deflecting the shots, Anakin frowned, and grabbed Bane by using the Force. The duros bounty hunter realized that he was being grabbed, and attempted to fly out of Anakin's reach, his rocket boots pushing him with more power. The Jedi Knight was stronger however, and managed to pull Bane down, smashing him on the floor of the deck.

As both Quinlan and Anakin ran towards the downed duros bounty hunter, Bane quickly threw another small mine at them. The resulting explosion forced the two Jedi to back away, which allowed the duros man to activate his rocket boots again, and attempt to fly away.

Ventress now proceeded to bend her legs, before jumping high in the air, and grabbing Bane's body, adding too much weight for the bounty hunter's rocket boots to carry. The two of them soon plummeted to the floor, hitting it hard. Ventress and Bane landed right next to the cannon, that was placed on the deck of the Khetanna.

As the two got up, Bane quickly kicked the dathomirian woman down, having stood up faster than her. He then climbed onto the deck gun, and quickly aimed it at the sail barge's hull. Anakin and Quinlan ran towards the gun, as well as Bane, who in slight desperation pulled the cannon's trigger, and shot a powerful blast at the barge's deck.

The resulting explosion shook the entire ship, and caused both Anakin and Quinlan to lose their footing. The cannon blast seemed to cause a chain reaction, as many smaller explosions went out on the Khetanna. The sail barge was being destroyed in a quick fashion.

Cad Bane then jumped off the deck gun, seeing how his human Jedi Knight nemesis was on his feet again, and was running at him with an enraged look. The duros bounty hunter activated his rocket boots yet again, and lifted off. As he attempted to fly away, Anakin jumped up, and just barely managed to slash his lightsaber at the duros man's feet.

The lightsaber blade cut one of Bane's rocket boosters, making it malfunction. As the human man landed back on the burning deck, the duros bounty hunter flew high in the air, his rocket boots now causing him to lose control, and fly wildly all over the place. Bane flew away from the Khetanna, waving his arms wildly, as he couldn't control his plummet. After a moment, he smashed into a nearby sand dune, his wild flying coming to an abrupt end.

Back on the sail barge's deck, Anakin and Ventress quickly looked around, before running to the railing, and looking down, seeing Ahsoka standing on one of the cargo skiffs. As they jumped down, landing on the skiff, Quinlan made his way to the railing as well. The kiffar man however did not jump down, and instead leaned on the railing, and looked around, trying to locate his former Padawan.

"Aayla? Aayla, where are you?" The middle aged man called out, not wanting to believe that his beloved apprentice had met her end.

On the cargo skiff, as Ventress walked over to the vehicle's controls, Anakin and Ahsoka noticed, that Master Vos was not jumping joining them. The human Jedi Knight frowned, and waved to his colleague.

"Vos! Get over here!" He shouted at the kiffar Jedi Master, who instead still attempted the locate Aayla Secure. Anakin only now noticed as well, that the twi'lek female was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a larger explosion shook the Khetanna, making Quinlan grab the railing tightly. The kiffar man then turned around, and could see that the fire was all around him. Another sound of an explosion was heard, and the Jedi Master realized, that he was out of time. As another explosion happened, a tear of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Oh, that can't be good..." Quinlan said to himself, as a chain of explosions began to rip the sail barge apart.

Anakin's eyes widened, as the hull of the Khetanna exploded open. Ventress clenched her teeth together, and quickly grabbed the cargo skiff's controls. She then steered the vehicle away from the blast, and slammed down the accelerator. Anakin gasped, and tried to jump off the vehicle, but Ahsoka grabbed his arm.

"No!" The human man exclaimed, as the sail barge proceeded to be destroyed.

In the following moment, the Khetanna exploded in a bright, and massive ball of fire, thousands of pieces of debris flying all around the Great Pit of Carkoon. Master Vos was completely engulfed by the fire, his body disappearing in the flames.

As the shockwave reached the Bantha-II skiff, Anakin and Ahsoka were pushed to the floor. Ventress held onto the controls tighter, and piloted the vehicle further away from the scene of destruction. After a moment, the human Jedi Knight slowly stood up, his expression filled with shock.

"Quinlan... Aayla... we have to go back! They might still be alive!" Anakin said, standing up and looking at Ventress, who raised her eyebrow.

"Are you crazy? Did you see how the barge exploded!? There's nothing left there, Skywalker!" The dathomiri woman responded with a frown. As Anakin bit his lip, and looked back at the site of destruction, Ahsoka walked next to him, and touched his shoulder.

"Ani.. we can't stay here. Jabba's followers will be after us now... we have to get off this planet.." She said quietly, moving her other hand to the human's cheek, who sighed deeply, and looked down.

"I.. I know... but I just can't leave them behind. They would not do that to me..." Anakin replied, now looking into Ahsoka's eyes, who sighed, and nodded. Ventress sighed as well, and kept piloting the skiff away from the Khetanna's wreck.

"Look... they might still be alive, but we can't stay here. The entire planet will be looking for us, now that Jabba's dead. And I'm not going to be imprisoned by some other hutt, so I'll take the first ship off Tatooine. If you want to stay, that's your choice.. but I won't help you, unless you come with me..." The woman said, steering the cargo skiff past a large dune.

Anakin looked at Ahsoka again, and sighed long, nodding. His togruta lover bit her lip, and hugged him, her fingers going through his hair. After a moment, he parted from her, and glanced at Ventress.

"Alright.. we'll do it your way, Ventress. What should we do next?" He asked, as he and the young togruta next to him leaned on the nearby railing. Ventress bit her lip, and looked at the scenery for a moment, before answering.

"Well, I'm gonna take us to _Mos Ila_. We should be able to find a spacer there, that'll take us off Tatooine." She explained, steering the skiff to the left, as she knew which direction the city of Mos Ila was located in. Anakin hummed quietly, and nodded, as he looked at the sandy dunes.

"Okay... we'll follow your lead, Ventress.." He replied quietly, after which he glanced at Ahsoka, and placed his arm around her. His former Padawan sighed, and leaned against him, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"Just sit back... we'll be there shortly." Ventress said, increasing the cargo skiff's speed, as they made their way to the open sand dunes of Tatooine.

As the trio flew aboard the Bantha-II skiff, Anakin could not get his mind off of what had just happened. He had no idea whether Quinlan and Aayla were alive or not, and it bothered him immensely. He had promised Ahsoka, that he would leave the Jedi Order, after getting off Tatooine, but a sense of uncertainty and slight fear made the young man uncomfortable.

He had no idea if this would be the right decision, as the war was still raging. The Jedi still needed him, but his love for his former apprentice was stronger, than the feeling of responsibility, that he had for the Jedi Order. Anakin didn't want to break his oath for the Jedi, but neither did he ever want to be apart from Ahsoka again. As he sighed quietly again, his togruta lover gently took his hand, and began to rub her thumb on it.

"We'll be alright, my love... nothing will separate us anymore.." Ahsoka whispered to him. Anakin looked at her, and sighed slightly, leaning his head against hers, while holding her hand tighter.

"You're right... I'll never let you go again.. ever..." He answered, his mind filled with determination, that he would never want to be apart from his love ever again.

As they held each other close, Ventress steered the Bantha-II cargo skiff past another sandy hill. The group stayed quiet, as they made their way towards the spaceport city Mos Ila, which was located dozens of kilometers away.

Anakin had in a way secured his freedom, from both imprisonment, as well as the Jedi Order, but he wondered whether the price he had paid for it was too much. He sighed audibly, as he knew that only time would tell, whether leaving the Jedi life behind him would be the best decision he's ever made, or the greatest mistake of his life.


	11. Chapter 10: On the Run

**Chapter 10: On the Run**

 _Raxus Secundus_ , the capital world in the _Raxus System_ of the _Tion Hegemony_ , in the Outer Rim Territories, had been under the rule of the _Kingdom of Cron_ thousands of years ago. Along with the rest of the Raxus System, the planet had joined the Republic eventually, and had been part the galactic government until the Clone Wars. The Confederacy of Independent Systems had soon made Raxus Secundus the capital planet of their government, after the clone armies of the Republic had first conquered Geonosis, as well as Muunilinst.

For the entirety of the war, the Raxus system had stayed nearly untouched, safe from the horrors of war. However, as the Republic had pushed the Separatist armies back in the recent months, their borders had fallen back closer and closer to the capital world. It was only a matter of time, until Raxus Secundus, simply called _Raxus_ , as well as the junk world _Raxus Prime_ , would come under an attack by the overwhelming clone forces. However, it would not be the Republic, that put the final nail in the coffin of the crumbling Separatist Alliance.

Dozens of ships gloomed over the burning city of _Vrenoa_ ; the capital of Raxus. Smoking houses collapsed due to heavy fire, with thousands of civilians fleeing the invading forces. As the _Senate Building of the Confederacy_ took heavy fire from large cruisers, and frigates, dozens upon dozens of gunships, similar to the Republic LAAT ships, with slight differences, and a white and black color scheme, descended upon the city, to drop off the troops they were carrying.

Several screaming civilians attempted to flee through the narrow alleys of the city, running over the destroyed remains of battle droids. The human civilians got to the end of the alley, and entered another street. Only a few seconds later, a gunship steered in front of them, opening its passenger compartment doors. The terrified civilians were then cut down by relentless blaster fire, as a squad of armed chiss soldiers opened fire on them.

After the civilians had been killed, the gunship quickly touched down on the dusty ground. The squad of chiss soldiers disembarked the ship, after which it lifted off again. Among the troops was a high ranked officer, who was wearing a lightly armored uniform. The officer quickly looked around, and prepared his high tech blaster carbine. He then signaled the squad to rally up around him.

"Split up into two groups. Search every building, and round up the civilians. If they try anything, execute them!" The blue skinned chiss man ordered, after which the squad of troopers split into two smaller groups, and advanced towards the nearby houses.

The chiss officer was Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, often simply called "Thrawn". He was one of the highest ranking military officers in the Chiss Ascendancy, and held great power within both the military, and the government. With his friends and family of the Nuruodo family backing him, Thrawn had become a force to be reckoned with in the Ascendancy.

As Thrawn walked along the street, burning houses all around him, a human female suddenly appeared into his field of view, running out of a smoking house. The fleeing civilian could only glance at the chiss man in front of her for a second, before she was brutally cut down by Thrawn opening fire on her with his blaster carbine.

After killing the civilian, several fast moving " _clawcraft_ " fighters flew above Thrawn, attacking the nearby buildings with their laser cannons. The fighters were an unique design of starships developed solely by the Chiss Ascendancy. Most other ships used by the Ascendancy were also developed by the chiss, though some of them shared similarities with ships built by the Galactic Republic. Since the Ascendancy had worked together with Darth Sidious, and therefore the Republic for years before the Clone Wars, the chiss had been given blueprints to Republic developed starships, weaponry, and vehicles. The Ascendancy's engineers and ship designers had then reverse engineered the Republic designs, and given them their own touch.

As the chiss admiral strolled along the street, several men from his squad stormed the buildings, trying to find any civilians, and bring them outside. As seconds went by, occasional shots and screams could be heard from inside the houses, implying that the residents were attempting to resist the chiss soldiers.

Admiral Thrawn calmly and casually kept on walking, his eyes scanning the surrounding area. More gunships flying in the air fired missiles at buildings, blowing massive holes to them. Hundreds of chiss marines fought the defending droid forces in the capital city's streets and marketplaces, making quick work of one of the Confederacy's only planet's defense forces.

As the capitol building collapsed partially from the heavy bombardment, clouds of dust and smoke fell upon the city, covering entire streets. The large chiss capital ships continued to bomb the city, their turbolaser cannons wreaking complete and utter destruction.

Raxus was one of the last planets left in Separatist control, and after this attack, their capital world would be under chiss occupation. Less than four years ago, the people living in the newly formed Confederacy of Independent Systems believed that they would be given a decisive victory against the Republic, with the use of billions of battle droids.

Even as the war had turned against their favor, most of the people in Separatist controlled space were confident in the abilities of their leaders. But now, as the last of their defended planets had fallen, there was no way for the Confederacy to recover. And with the recent massacre of the Separatist Council, which was still unknown to the Galaxy, the Clone Wars was finally at its end, at least when it came to the Separatists and their droid armies.

After defeating the Separatists, the Republic would point their attention and weapons at the Hutt controlled regions of space. The Chiss Ascendancy would aid their Republic allies in this crusade, hoping to secure a lucrative and profitable alliance with them, which could last for hundreds of years.

Unknown to the Galaxy's inhabitants, this was only one part of a much darker scheme, which had been in the works for the last thousand years. The chiss were in on this plan as well, and would work their hardest to ensure its success, however vile and destructive it could initially be to the Galaxy. But the end result would be worth any sacrifice that would have to be made.

 **...**

The small city of Mos Ila was rather quiet, as only a handful of commuters went about their business around the town's main square, and the spaceport. Thousands of years ago, the small city had been a trade outpost used by the Jawas. During the _Cold War_ , over three thousand years ago, the Sith Empire of Lord Vitiate had captured the small town, and driven out its native Jawa populace. The Republic and the Sith Empire fought small skirmishes, and guerilla battles on Tatooine for nearly two decades, until the Imperial forces were finally driven out.

Ever since then, Mos Ila had stayed a small quiet town, with only little commute coming through it every now and then. The city was a haven for smugglers, as even though the Hutts endorsed spice trading, they still restricted some merchandize that the most daring smugglers would attempt to distribute all around the systems in their controlled space. With little to no security at all, Mos Ila was an easily maintained outpost for these smugglers.

As a small gust of wind blew dust on the sandy streets of the town, dathomirian bounty hunter Asajj Ventress walked towards the entrance of _Ryncol's Rest_ _Cantina_ , Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, as well his former Padawan Ahsoka Tano, closely following in behind her. Anakin's faithful astromech droid companion R2-D2 was following them closely, rolling on his small wheels. The group of three had arrived to Mos Ila only a few minutes ago, having ditched the cargo skiff belonging to the late Jabba the Hutt's crime syndicate near the city's premises.

They now approached the Ryncol's Rest Cantina, from where they were hoping to find a smuggler, or a spacer that could be persuaded to get them off Tatooine. They'd need to escape the planet, before Jabba's criminal allies could get a lead on them. With Ventress leading the group, the three entered the small cantina, Anakin nervously looking around. Tatooine was filled with crooks and untrustworthy people, which was something that the Jedi Knight knew well.

Immediately after entering the dark and sketchy bar, the sound of music filled the three fugitives' ears. The air was slightly smoggy from dozens of hookah pipes, that many of the cantina's patrons were smoking. Rowdy laughter and chatter made it hard to focus in on anything for Anakin, who clenched his teeth together. Ahsoka gently grabbed his hand, and moved closer to him, nervously looking around. This was definitely not a nice place to be in.

As they got to the bar, Ventress leaned on the counter, getting the bartender's attention. The dathomirian woman simply pointed at one of the liquor bottles behind the bartender, that were placed on a display wall. As the human man reached in for the bottle, Anakin and Ahsoka stopped next to Ventress, standing by and looking around.

Suddenly, a scruffy looking weequay man came to stand next to Ventress, slamming his hand on the counter, and getting the woman's attention. The weequay had a distasted look on his wrinkly face.

"You've got some nerve coming back here, Ventress... don't tell me you've forgotten that you owe me for that game of _pazaak_!" The man said in an angry voice, to which Ventress could only roll her eyes, as she grabbed the glass of liquor.

"You still have time to dwell on that, _Mokler_? I'm not going to pay you.. and you know that..." She replied, which seemed to enrage the weequay further. As Ventress was about to take a sip of her drink, Mokler slammed the glass out of her hands.

"Just because you can use the Force doesn't mean you get your way every time, Ventress! It's time me and my boys taught you a lesson!" The man said enraged, motioning towards a small group of thugs behind him. Ventress sighed, and bit her lip, turning to look at the weequay.

"Oh, believe me, Mokler... I don't need the Force to do this.." The dathomirian woman said quietly, before suddenly grabbing her lightsaber. The red blade brandished, and with a quick slash, Ventress immediately beheaded the weequay man, whose head flew off his shoulders.

As Mokler's body fell on the floor, the cantina fell silent for a few moments, the patrons looking towards the scene of manslaughter. The human bartender sighed long, having probably seen far too many bodies in his bar. Ventress stared at the late weequay's band of thugs, who quickly made their way out of the cantina, not wanting to deal with the dathomiri woman, which would only lead to their deaths as well.

After the incident, Ventress turned back, and leaned on the counter again. Anakin and Ahsoka were still quiet, both not exactly sure with what their dathomirian ally was planning. Before they could say anything, the faint sound of slow clapping filled the air, as the cantina returned back to normal.

"Well... color me surprised; Asajj Ventress at Mos Ila.. never thought I'd see you again..." A female voice said, which got the group of three's attention.

As Ventress, Anakin and Ahsoka glanced towards the sound, they could see a _falleen_ female approaching them. The woman had three falleen males walking behind her, acting as bodyguards.

The falleen were humanoid reptilians hailing from the lush forest world of the same name; _Falleen_. The falleen were an exotic species, having a longer lifespan than most other species, with an average lifespan of around 250 years. Falleen were also known for their ability to release mind altering pheromones. These pheromones could be used to seduce, persuade or otherwise hinder a target's mind, and thus made the falleen a distrusted race in the Galaxy.

Ventress raised her eyebrows, as she looked upon the rather tall falleen female, who was approaching her, clapping her hands slowly.

" _Savan_? What are you doing here..? Some errant work for your uncle Xizor again?" The dathomiri woman asked, sitting down on a stool. The falleen female frowned slightly, as she came to stand next to Ventress.

"That's _Prince Xizor_ to you, Ventress... as you know very well.." She answered, her voice slightly bitter. Savan then glanced at Anakin and Ahsoka, and her face was filled with surprise again.

"What's this? I didn't know you had friends..." She said, slightly taunting. Ventress frowned a bit, and rolled her eyes.

"If you stowed the attitude, even you could someday be among my friends.." The pale skinned woman answered, resting her hands on the counter. The falleen female scoffed, and shook her head.

"In your dreams, witch... I don't befriend Nightsisters.." Savan said, as she took a step towards Anakin and Ahsoka. Ventress sighed, quietly, and got up from her stool.

"Skywalker, Ahsoka.. this is Savan. She's one of her uncle's closest lieutenants. Her uncle is none other than Prince Xizor; the heir to the Falleen throne... as well as one of the Black Sun's most prominent leaders..." She introduced the falleen female to the two, who both raised their eyebrows.

The _Black Sun_ was the largest, and one of the oldest crime syndicates in the Galaxy, having been formed thousands of years ago. The Black Sun were mainly spice dealers, and held tremendous amount of power in the lawless and independent regions of the Galaxy, as well as Hutt Space. The organization had its roots of corruption deep in dozens of planets' governments, which enabled their spice and weapons trade to reach unimaginable heights.

Prince Xizor, one of the Black Sun's leaders, was part of the Falleen royal family, and was first in line to inherit the throne. For decades, Xizor had strengthened Black Sun's position in the Galaxy, expanding the reach of the organization inside the Republic's borders. As Falleen had been part of the Republic before the Clone Wars, covertly establishing bases of operation deep inside the galactic government's borders. To do this, Xizor used his family's transportation company to smuggle spice and weapons to highly secure Republic planets.

Anakin frowned slightly, as Savan walked closer to him, chuckling as her eyes looked up and down his body.

"I'm not just one of my uncle's closest lieutenants, I'm **the** lieutenant, Ventress.." The falleen woman said, biting her lip slightly, as she stared at Anakin, who was beginning to feel a bit strange.

"My... what a handsome specimen.. too bad you hang around this witch... I could have so much use for you in the company.." Savan noted, clearly finding the human Jedi Knight attractive, which slightly annoyed Ahsoka, who squeezed her hands behind Anakin.

"I usually avoid working with criminal scum, so I'm afraid that I wouldn't have accepted any offer to begin with." He answered with a slight smug, which caused the falleen to frown, and scoff. Ahsoka smiled, as that was exactly what she wanted to hear

"Hmpf... should have known you'd be like that... fine, your loss.." Savan noted, before quickly turning back to Ventress.

"I need to be going.. I'm sure we'll meet one day again, Ventress... though I hope I won't be that unlucky.." She said, to which the dathomirian woman shrugged her shoulders, and struck a slight smirk.

"Believe me, I hope that too. Say hello to your uncle for me..." Ventress said with a smirk, which made Savan roll her eyes, as she signaled her bodyguards to follow her out.

After the falleen group had left the cantina, Anakin sighed quietly. He was starting to get impatient. The human man got closer to Ventress, frowning a bit. He set his hand on the counter, his fingers beginning to tap on it.

"We're wasting time, Ventress... you sure that we'll find a suitable pilot and a ship here?" The Jedi Knight asked, which caused his former rival to bite her lip, and look around again.

"I'm working on it, Skywalker... I'm sure that someone will be able to help us.. just give me a moment." She answered, trying to calm her impatient ally.

Ventress spent a few long seconds scanning the cantina with her eyes. After a moment, she hummed quietly, a smile appearing on her face, as she spotted a human man sitting down in a booth nearby. She then turned back to Anakin, and pointed at the man.

"I just found our pilot... you're so very welcome.." She said with a sarcastic smile, as she began to walk towards the nearby booth. Anakin hummed quietly, and quickly turned to Ahsoka, taking her hand, as they started to follow the dathomirian mercenary.

Ventress walked over to the booth, seeing the bearded human man with brown hair, being preoccupied with reading through a datapad. The dathomiri woman could see that the man hadn't noticed her, so she cleared her throat.

"Hey there, Solo." She said, but the human man simply waved her off.

"Look, I paid for this table... so whoever you are.. get lost, alright?" The man said, keeping his eyes on the datapad. Ventress sighed, and rolled her eyes, sitting down in the booth opposite of the man. The human then looked up, seeing the dathomirian in front of him.

"We have some things to discuss.." She said with a calm voice. The human man's expression changed to slight dismay, as he let out a long breath.

"Ah, blast... it's you. Look, I already paid you for what you did for me earlier... I don't owe you anything, Ventress.." He answered quickly, putting down the datapad. The man, apparently named " _Solo_ " then looked at Anakin and Ahsoka, raising his eyebrows.

"Seriously... what do you want?" He then asked, looking back at Ventress, who smiled slightly, and leaned back on her seat.

"Simple... we need a ride off Tatooine, and I know you have one of the fastest ships in this sector." The mercenary explained, which only made Solo raise his eyebrows further.

"You need to get off Tatooine? On my ship? Since I don't owe you anything... why should I help you?" He asked, leaning back slightly and folding his arms. Ventress simply chuckled, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, I could say that I'll owe you one for that... but you want money, don't you?" She asked, which caused Solo to bite his lip, and stroke his chin.

"Yeah... since you don't seem to be the only one coming aboard, I'll need four thousand credits for each of you... paid up front.." The human pilot demanded, leaning back on the seat again, quickly glancing at Anakin and Ahsoka. Ventress frowned, knowing that she didn't have such money on her.

"Oh come on, _Jonash_... don't be like that.." The dathomirian woman said with a smirk, trying to change the man's mind. Solo, his first name being Jonash, didn't seem to care, shaking his head. Before he could answer, Anakin took a step forward.

"You'll get six thousand for all of us, plus we'll compensate you for fuel and all the travel fees.." He assured, which caused everyone else to raise their eyebrows. Solo's jaw fell wide open, as he scratched the back of his head and hair.

"18 thousand credits!? Are you serious?" The pilot asked in disbelief. Ventress and Ahsoka were staring at Anakin like he was a mad dog, but the Jedi Knight only smirked.

"Yeah.. you'll get eighteen thousand credits, but the catch is; you won't get them up front..." Anakin explained to Solo, which caused the man's expression to turn sour again. The pilot scoffed quietly.

"You think I'm an amateur? No deal... go hitch a ride somewhere else.." He answered, starting to get up from the booth, but was stopped by Ventress, who slammed her hand on the table.

"You know I still carry lightsabers, Solo. And take a look at them... they are too. See.. unlike me, they're Jedi... and I'm sure they'd love to hear about you smuggling spice in Republic territories.." The dathomiri woman said with a smug smile, to which the pilot raised his eyebrows.

"Jedi?" He asked, after which he turned to glance at Anakin and Ahsoka, noticing lightsabers hanging on their belts. Solo's face turned slightly red, tears of sweat running down his forehead.

"Oh great... what have I gotten myself into..?" The man asked quietly from himself, falling back down on the seat, sighing long.

A quiet laugh escaped Ventress' mouth, as she shook her head slightly. Anakin folded his arms, Ahsoka leaning against him slightly. Solo exhaled long, rubbing his forehead, as he didn't know what to do.

"Well, there's three options for you right now..." The dathomirian woman said, leaning against the table. The human pilot raised his eyebrows, and waited for Ventress to continue.

"The first option; you take us anywhere we want to, no questions asked, and we pay you 18 thousand credits afterwards. Second option; my Jedi friends here turn you in to Republic authorities for your spice smuggling operations. And the third option; I'll just slice your throat with my lightsaber, and we'll take your precious ship..." She explained with a devious smile, her hand moving to her waist, her fingers playing with the lightsaber hilt. Tears of sweat ran down the pilot's forehead, as he swallowed audibly.

"Look.. I have a kid to take care of, Ventress.. I need the money. I'll help you out, if you promise to pay me back..." Solo answered, glancing at the three people around him. Anakin smiled slightly, and nodded.

"We will... you have my word." The human Jedi Knight assured. Solo bit his lip, and nodded, before sighing quickly. He then grabbed the datapad from the table, and stood up.

"We'll leave inside the hour. The _Stellar Envoy_ is docked at landing bay C4... don't be late, Jedi.." The man said, before quickly glancing at Ventress.

"You always manage to get me in trouble, Ventress... after this is done.. let's stay as far away from each other as we can..." He said, to which the woman rolled her eyes, and smirked. The smuggler then left, silently walking out of the cantina. After Solo had left, Ventress got up from the booth. Anakin had his eyebrow raised, as he folded his arms again.

"What's the history between you and him?" He asked the woman, who chuckled, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing fancy or weird, Skywalker. I travelled with him on a few occasions when I was pursuing my bounty targets. Saved his life once, which he owed me for a long time. But.. like he said, he paid me back." Ventress explained, to which Anakin raised his eyebrow further, and let out a quiet "Uh-huh" as a response. After a short moment, Ahsoka tugged his arm, and got his attention. The beautiful togruta's blue eyes looked deep into his, looking slightly worried.

"Ani... how are we going to pay him back? We don't have eighteen thousand credits.." She said worriedly, but her human lover simply chuckled quietly.

"We don't... but I have friends who do. I'm sure that Padmé will be glad to help us paying back Solo." Anakin replied, knowing that he had no idea whether his old friend could help them on the financial side, but he felt confident. Ahsoka raised her eyebrow.

"Senator Amidala? You sure she would help us..?" She asked, to which the human man nodded.

"Sure... I've been her friend for years, and it's not like that we haven't saved her skin more than once during this war. She'll help us.. I guarantee it..." He answered, smiling confidently. Ventress bit her lip, and hummed slightly.

"Well, even if we can't come up with the money, Solo will help us... we can always use other ways to 'persuade' him.." She said, squeezing her fist, while smiling deviously. Anakin frowned slightly, and shook his head.

"Let's not think about those kinds of 'ways', Ventress... let's just get to the docking bay." The Jedi Knight said quickly, as he took Ahsoka's hand, and begun to head out of the cantina.

Ventress smiled, and rolled her eyes, as she followed the two out of the cantina, which had returned to its loud, and quite rowdy mood. The trio exited the building, and began to head towards the nearby spaceport, where Jonash Solo's ship, the Stellar Envoy, would be docked at. With the help of the shady, yet seemingly trustworthy smuggler, they could finally get off Tatooine, and escape the prying eyes of the Hutt Cartels.

 **...**

Hundreds of speeders flew past the large windows of Chancellor Palpatine's red colored office. Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Kit Fisto, as well as the First Chairman, the Viceroy, Prince Consort and Senator of Alderaan Bail Organa, sat across the desk that the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic was seated at. The Vice Chancellor Mas Amedda stood next to Palpatine, his face stoic as always.

The three men sitting across the desk to the Chancellor were quiet, silently looking at the holographic recording, that had just been broadcasted from Onderon all around the _HoloNet_. The human senator from Alderaan had his hand in front of his mouth, as he witnessed the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium brutally execute the Prime Minister of Onderon; Lux Bonteri. After the young prime minister's headless body fell to the ground, the red haired hapan woman stared into the camera, breathing heavily.

" _Change begins right here... right now..._ " Ta'a Chume said to the camera, after which the recording ended.

The Supreme Chancellor silently stared at his desk, sighing as he then focused his attention to the people in front of him. Master Windu stroked his chin, quickly glancing at his fellow Jedi Council member Kit Fisto, who shared his troubled look.

"Have we been able to confirm that the Queen Mother was behind the attacks on Tanaab, and the fleet based near the Hapes Cluster?" Chancellor Palpatine asked, after which the former _Master of the Order_ Mace Windu sighed, and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Yes... we've confirmed that Ta'a Chume has been behind the recent attacks, with Onderon being the last of her targets. The Hapan forces have completely annihilated any opposition they've encountered.." The korun human Jedi Master explained. Senator Organa sighed in frustration, rubbing his forehead as he shook his head.

"I can't understand it; how are they able to destroy our fleets and armies completely.. one after another?" He asked in disbelief. Masters Windu and Fisto quickly glanced at each other again, before the nautolan Jedi Master responded.

"The Queen Mother was once a Jedi Knight... and she's gifted in the rare ability of Battle Meditation. With her ability and natural prowess in the Force... her military force is nearly unstoppable.." Master Fisto explained, to which the Supreme Chancellor let out a quiet hum.

"I don't understand.. is this 'Battle Meditation' so powerful, that the Hapans can literally destroy all of our navies, and conquer our planets? Do the Jedi not have countermeasures against such a thing?" Palpatine asked, looking between the two Jedi Masters, who both sighed, and shrugged their shoulders.

"Unfortunately, the only other Jedi to have mastered Battle Meditation better than the Queen Mother, was Master _Oppo Rancisis_... and he was killed by Sora Bulq and Count Dooku on Saleucami only a few months ago..." Master Windu explained, knowing that things seemed quite bleak.

Battle Meditation was such a rare and devastating power, that nearly all of the Jedi Order had no idea about how to counter it, or effectively fight against it. Mace Windu's own former master, the centuries old shape shifting _neti_ female _T'ra Saa_ , was also somewhat skilled in the use of Battle Meditation.

T'ra Saa's powers however were centered around Force healing, and the manipulation of nature, as she was to an extent a living plant herself, and thus the neti Jedi Master could never even hope to compare to Ta'a Chume's powers. Using Battle Meditation against the fallen Jedi Knight was out of the question.

"Is there no way for us to battle the Queen Mother's forces then? Could we use diplomacy..?" Senator Organa asked, looking for suggestions from his Jedi friends. Master Windu sighed, and stayed quiet for a moment, thinking deeply.

"The Queen Mother did sound very confident in her convictions about 'punishing' the Republic... she might not want to pursue diplomatic paths with us.." Chancellor Palpatine chimed in, to which Masters Windu and Fisto nodded their head, agreeing. The dark skinned Jedi Master then hummed quietly, and stroked his cheek.

"Agreed... and since our fleets cannot face her head-on.. we must find another way.." He replied, before falling deep into his thoughts again. After a short moment, Master Fisto bit his lip, and nudged his Jedi colleague's arm.

"We could attempt to contact her master... perhaps he could negotiate a peace between us and the Consortium?" The nautolan man suggested, to which Master Windu hummed quietly. Senator Organa raised his eyebrows, glancing at the two Jedi.

"Who is her master..?" The alderaanian human asked. Chancellor Palpatine shared the senator's expression, as he stared at the Jedi Masters.

"Master _Rahm Kota_ was her master several years ago. Reaching him might not be easy, though..." Master Windu answered, to which the Supreme Chancellor scoffed quietly, and shrugged his shoulders.

"How so? He is a general in the Grand Army, is he not? Can we not simply locate the clone brigade he's leading..?" The elder human man asked, after which Master Windu sighed, and shook his head.

"That's where the problem lies in... Master Kota is not leading any clone legion. When the war started, he refused to lead any clones, and instead formed his own militia, with whom he has conducted special forces operations for the entirety of the war. Since they work largely off the grid.. finding them and contacting them might prove difficult..." He explained, his voice calm and collected. Senator Organa sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead, while the Chancellor frowned slightly, resting his hands on the desk.

"If he is the only one who could talk some sense to the Queen Mother, then he must be found. I trust that the Jedi Order will be able to handle this... as this matter is largely tied to you.." Chancellor Palpatine said with a smile, which was met with slight frowns from the two Jedi Masters, who stayed quiet for a moment.

"Yes... we should be able to contact Master Kota eventually, Chancellor. Let's hope that the Queen Mother's thirst for blood has been saturated for now..." Master Windu said with a nod, as he and Master Fisto stood up from their seats. Senator Organa stood up as well, as the Supreme Chancellor stayed seated, smiling warmly.

"I'm sure you will handle this excellently, my friends. I will be in contact with high command, and make sure that more of our fleets will be dispatched to defend against the Hapan forces." He assured in a friendly voice. The two Jedi Masters quickly bowed to the leader of the Republic, as did the senator of Alderaan.

As the three servants of the Republic left the office, the doors to the exit opened. The recently appointed Grand Moff of the Republic, Wilhuff Tarkin, walked into the Chancellor's office, wearing a fancy military uniform. With only a small greeting nod to the Jedi Masters and the senator, the newly appointed Grand Moff made his way to the seated Chancellor. After Master Windu and Fisto, as well as Senator Organa had left, Tarkin stood in attention in front of the Chancellor.

"Supreme Chancellor Palpatine; I am happy to announce that the first _Imperator-class_ star destroyers have finished their construction, and are ready to be deployed for a shakedown run." The officer announced in a official tone, which was met with a slight smirk from the Chancellor, who leaned back on his comfortable seat.

The Imperator-class star destroyers were the successors of the current Venator-class star destroyers, that the Republic Navy employed at the moment. The Imperators were nearly 500 meters longer than the Venator-class ships. They also had nearly twice as much firepower, and their engines were more powerful. Having a similar wedge-like shape, like their much smaller Victory-class cruiser cousins, the Imperator-class star destroyer was truly a terrifying sight to be seen.

"Excellent! Those ships will be the image of power, that the newly organized Republic will project. With them, our navy will be unstoppable!" Chancellor Palpatine replied, his voice sounding especially pleased. The Grand Moff smirked, and nodded in agreement.

"Absolutely, your Excellency! I humbly request to be granted the command of the new star destroyers. I will use them to bring fear to the Republic's enemies.." Tarkin assured loudly, to which the Chancellor chuckled, and nodded.

"Granted, Tarkin... and I have the first target for your new ships already in mind; Mandalore.." He said with a smile, to which the Grand Moff raised his eyebrows.

"Mandalore, sir?" The human officer asked in a surprised voice. The Supreme Chancellor smirked, and nodded.

"Yes... for months the planet has been in the middle of a civil war between petty warlords. This will be the perfect opportunity for the Republic to secure Mandalore once and for all.. and for your new ships to prove their worthiness..." Palpatine explained, crossing his fingers and smirking rather deviously. The Grand Moff licked his lips, before silently nodding his head.

"As you command, Chancellor... I will have the fleet, and the troops ready for an invasion. Mandalore will be ours.." Tarkin replied, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

Before the Chancellor could answer, the door to his private chambers opened. The shady and distinctively clothed umbaran aide Sly Moore, walked into the office suite, and bowed her head quickly.

"A transmission for you, my lord..." The woman said in a calm, yet slightly menacing tone. The smile from the Chancellor's face faded, and the elderly human man stood up.

"Leave us." Chancellor Palpatine said in a low, emotionless voice. Tarkin slightly raised his eyebrows, but nodded his head after a moment. Mas Amedda and him both then quickly bowed to him, before they left the office.

Palpatine then silently walked to his umbaran aide, who bowed to him again. The two of them slowly walked to the private chambers, closing the door behind them. As they got to the darker, more metallic room, the Chancellor sat down on his seat, in front of a computer and a hologram emitter.

The human man's expression was stoic, as he slowly pulled up a hood from his red cloak. The hood then adorned his head, masking his pale face slightly, and covering his eyes. With Sly Moore standing by his side, Palpatine then pressed a few buttons on his console display, putting through the transmission he was receiving. After a few seconds, a flickering hologram appeared on the projector. The image of a dark clothed mirialan female appeared, her face being slightly covered by her hood.

"The Separatist Council has been dealt with, my master..." The fallen Jedi Barriss Offee announced in a quiet, emotionless voice. A devilish smile appeared on Palpatine's face, who leaned back on his chair.

"And so.. it is finished. With the fall of Raxus, and the defeat of the remaining droid forces, the Separatists are history. You have done well, my apprentice.." The Chancellor, secretly being the dark lord of the Sith Darth Sidious answered. His Sith apprentice smiled, and bowed slightly in respect.

"Soon the Jedi and the Republic will follow, and I will be your instrument of vengeance against them.." The young woman assured, to which her Sith Master hummed quietly, and nodded.

"Yes... you shall. But, we must still be a little more patient.. the plan is not yet ready to be fully executed. In the meanwhile, I have another mission for you, Barriss.." Darth Sidious then said, leaning slightly forward again, and crossing his fingers. His apprentice yet again bowed him.

"Anything you want, master." She said, trying her best to stay obedient and pleasing to the great Sith Master, as she wanted to rise up the ranks, and become a master herself one day as well. Sidious smiled, and nodded his head again.

"I will upload the coordinates to Darth Tyranus' fleet for you... he and Bulq will provide you with your next objective.." The human man explained, which was met with a slight frown from his apprentice.

"What? What do I need them for?" Barriss asked, slightly irritated by the fact that she was supposed to work with her rivals. Sidious smirked slightly, and leaned back on his chair again.

"Do not shy away from your allies, Barriss... you must use them as long as they can be useful. The mission you'll be undertaking is beyond your skills anyway... you'll need their help in succeeding.." The human Sith Master explained, to which his apprentice sighed long, before nodding.

"As you wish, my master. I will make my way to them forthwith.." The mirialan responded, slightly bowing her head again. Her master smiled, and hummed quietly, nodding.

"Good... this will be the greatest challenge you've yet faced, Barriss. Do not fail me..." Darth Sidious stated, before ending the transmission with his apprentice, not allowing her to reply.

He had trust in the young sith apprentice's abilities, but the elder Sith Master had learned not to trust in his lackeys' powers too much, as he had been failed many times before. After a moment, Sly Moore bent over slightly, coming closer to her lord.

"My lord... our agent within the _Altisian Jedi_ reports that their ship has moved away from Bespin, and is heading towards the _Hoth_ system." The umbaran dark lady said, to which her Sith Master smiled, and nodded.

In reality, Sly Moore was far more than simply the aide to the Supreme Chancellor; she was also a dark acolyte to Darth Sidious, and was powerful in the Force. She had been taken from her homeworld of _Umbara_ decades ago, and had been training in the Dark Side of the Force for all her life. She was the perfect servant for Darth Sidious, even though she was not a proper sith apprentice to him.

"Good.. with the help of Lord Tyranus and Sora Bulq, Barriss will destroy those pathetic rogue Jedi. It will be the perfect test to prepare her for the rest of the Order..." The Sith Lord said with a chuckle, to which his aide and secret disciple nodded her head.

"Yes... at least we will have our revenge.. the Jedi will be destroyed, one by one..." The umbaran woman said quietly, at which her master smirked, and nodded in agreement.

"Everything is going as I have foreseen it... soon.. the Galaxy will be ours..." Darth Sidious proclaimed in a pleased, enthusiastic voice. His disciple nodded in agreement again, before returning to stand next to the Sith Lord, who was in his alter ego, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

The two of them stayed inside the private chambers of Chancellor Palpatine, as evening sun was setting on Coruscant, and making the vast city skyline look beautiful, as the rays of light shined through the endless skyscrapers. The Sith would soon come closer to their Gran Plan's initiation, which would forever change the Galaxy, and topple the Jedi and the Republic after a millennia of secrecy and dark scheming.

 **...**

The massive main hall of the Unifar Temple on Onderon was rather quiet and empty, as only the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium and her closest generals and guards were inside the building. The young Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam was standing near the former royal throne of Onderon, which Ta'a Chume was seated in.

Near the young woman stood the tall cyborg bodyguard of the Queen Mother, who had kept the Jedi prisoner in his sights the entire time they had been on Onderon, making sure that Kriza wasn't planning to do anything stupid.

The Queen Mother sighed deeply, as she had her hand against her forehead, the group of admirals and generals looking at her nervously, standing at the bottom of the short flight of stairs. One of the admirals, Terlan Je'Kyll, cleared his throat.

"My Queen... our forces will not be able to wage war on multiple fronts. Our navy is not large, and can only defeat the Republic due to your powers... if they attack us on multiple fronts... we won't last long against them.." The hapan man explained, to which his liege sighed long, and nodded, rubbing her forehead.

"I know... we have to think of something.." Ta'a Chume replied quietly, her expression showing clear stress.

Kriza could see from the Queen Mother's face, that the realities of total war against the Republic had started to get to her. Her powers alone weren't enough to defeat the massive Republic war machine, which was something that the rather young Queen Mother was no finally realizing.

"We should bolster our defenses around Onderon... let the Republic attempt to attack us here. I think it's our only hope of keeping ourselves in this fight for longer than a few months..." A different Hapan general suggested, to which the Queen Mother bit her lip, and nodded.

"Yes.. we shall do that. We're still in a good position, even if the future is uncertain. If the Republic wants Onderon back... let them come.. we'll be ready for them. Ready our forces for defense.." She ordered, leaning back on the throne. Her loyal subjects bowed to her graciously, before leaving the former seat of the Onderon's government to do their Queen's bidding.

After her military advisors had left, Ta'a Chume sighed deeply again, as she got up from the throne. She looked around the vast empty hall, before walking down the set of stairs. As Kriza looked at her, she was suddenly shoved forward by the cyborg bodyguard Draco S'Krill, who forced her to walk to the Queen Mother, who was again rubbing her forehead. As the young Jedi Padawan got to the hapan woman, Ta'a Chume turned to her.

"You'd think that with my powers, destroying the Republic would be easy... but it's not. Perhaps I was too naive to assume such things.. but I've yet to face defeat in this war. Let the Republic come, Kriza... I will push on after my forces have rallied to me.." She explained to Kriza, who silently stared at her, before simply nodding.

"Whatever you say..." The young woman answered quietly, which motioned the Queen Mother to frown slightly.

The hapan woman then looked down at Kriza's hands, which were still cuffed. With a simple twitch of her hand, the Queen Mother destroyed the cuffs using the Force. Her hands free, Kriza raised her eyebrows, as she rubbed her wrists.

"I'm confident that you won't attempt to run, Kriza... you're far too intelligent to do that.." Ta'a Chume said, a slight smile appearing on her face. Kriza didn't really know how to answer, as she had no idea about the Queen Mother's motives. As the cyborg bodyguard of the Queen walked closer to her, the hapan woman frowned, and stared at the man.

"Draco! Haven't you got anything better to do? Leave us for a moment..." She said quickly in an irritated voice, which further made Kriza raise her eyebrows. The cyborg Draco S'Krill was silent, simply bowing to his Queen, before walking away, though grunting quietly to himself.

After the bodyguard had left, Ta'a Chume smiled again, and quickly patted her prisoner's shoulder. Kriza was starting to feel uncomfortable, not knowing whether the Queen tried to ease her worries, or if she was leading her to a trap.

"Are you hungry, Kriza? When's the last time you've eaten..?" The Queen Mother asked in a more warm tone.

Kriza's eyes widened, as she realized that she had not eaten anything in days. Her connection to the Force helped with protection against starvation, but no Jedi would ever be immune to it. Touching her stomach and hearing it growl a bit, Kriza sighed.

"Haven't gotten the chance to get some food... been too busy being a prisoner.." She answered in a slight sarcastic manner, which was met with a raised eyebrow from the Queen Mother.

"Really? I specifically told Draco to keep you fed... shows me not to place my trust in that big hunk of meat.." Ta'a Chume said, rubbing her forehead with a slight sigh. The hapan woman then clasped her hands together, before smiling again at Kriza, and rubbing her shoulder.

"Well... come on then; we'll go have a proper dinner. I think I owe you a filling meal for not realizing that my servants weren't feeding you.." She said with a slight chuckle, to which Kriza responded with raising her eyebrows.

"I... well.. I am hungry.." The young Padawan admitted, biting her lip. The Queen Mother chuckled again, after which she motioned the young human woman to come with her.

"Come on then... I'll get us a fine Hapan dinner; I bet you've never tasted the food of my people before." Ta'a Chume said in a happy manner, as she began to walk towards the throne room's exit. Kriza followed her carefully, rubbing her arm as she slowly walked behind the Queen Mother.

Kriza was certain that the Queen Mother was attempting to befriend her, so that the hapan woman could later attempt to sway the her to join her cause, and the war against the Republic. Kriza knew that she would never betray the Jedi or the Republic, and she knew that no matter what Ta'a Chume would try to persuade her with, she would not steer away from her convictions.

However, even though she was weak at the moment, Kriza could sense that the Queen Mother's motives were sincere, and had no immediate second thoughts behind them. This confused the young woman, and made her question the notion that the Hapan Queen was attempting to manipulate her. Still, her gut was telling her that she should never trust the Queen Mother completely, no matter what. The former Jedi Knight had killed Kriza's master, and that was something that the young woman could never forget.

The two of them made their way out of the throne room, the Queen Mother leading them outside, and towards the landed transport shuttles that waited on the courtyard near the building. From there, Kriza assumed that they'd travel back to Ta'a Chume's personal Hapan Battle Dragon, where she would likely be offered that meal the Queen Mother had talked about.

 **...**

Sand dusted off the boots of Anakin, as he and Ahsoka followed Ventress through a small door inside the Mos Ila spaceport. The main spaceport building was thousands of years old, having been built during the Cold War by Darth Vitiate's Sith Empire. The building had been renovated only a few times since that time, and still held some of the same characteristics that the original Sith building had nearly four thousand years ago.

The trio entered the C4 designated docking bay, where Jonash Solo's ship was supposedly waiting for them. As soon as they entered the large hangar, Anakin and Ahsoka could see a rugged, rather beaten up and worn out looking _Corellian YT-1300_ light freighter at the center of the docking bay. The ship was clearly meant for cargo hauling, and certainly did not look like a fast ship, that could outrun Hutt Cartel patrol craft.

"What a piece of junk!" Ahsoka exclaimed, as she, Anakin and Ventress walked over to Jonash, who was making final adjustments to the ship's systems outside; using a wrench to tighten some bolts. The human smuggler chuckled, as he finished his work, and approached the trio.

"She doesn't look like much, but she flies like a dream. You'll see soon enough, Master Jedi.." Solo said with a slight smirk, after which Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, still eyeing the rather disappointing looking ship.

"That's some high praise for a ship that looks like a junk hauler.." Anakin stated, agreeing with Ahsoka about the freighter's looks. The human smuggler chuckled, and patted the hull of his ship.

"You're not the first to say that, and you won't be the last. But put at least a little trust in me, and believe me when I say that the Stellar Envoy will take you wherever you want, and fast." Solo assured with an eyewink, as he smirked, walking past the two Jedi, and stepping over to the boarding ramp. As Anakin and Ahsoka quickly glanced at each other, Ventress smirked, and patted the human Jedi's shoulder.

"I still remember that _G9 Rigger_ you used to fly, Skywalker... don't pretend that you've flown classier ships.." The dathomirian mercenary said with a chuckle, as she walked up the freighter's boarding ramp afterwards.

Anakin rolled his eyes slightly, as he far too well remembered the _Twilight_ ; the G9 Rigger-class freighter he and Ahsoka had operated during the first years of the Clone Wars. The Twilight wasn't that different from the Envoy, having been a bulky and unimpressive looking cargo ship, but was modified to fly faster, and be more effective in combat due to more powerful weapons. The Twilight had been destroyed nearly a year ago on Mandalore, when Anakin's former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had caused its destruction in the hands of Darth Maul's faction of the Mandalorian _Death Watch_.

"The Twilight outran your droid ships plenty of times, Ventress!" The young Jedi Knight yelled after his former rival, who laughed as she boarded the Corellian freighter. R2, who was close by, chirped in a chuckling manner as well, also remembering all the adventures he had had with his owner. Solo then clasped his hands together, motioning Anakin and Ahsoka to enter as well.

"We should get moving, Jedi. I heard that there's some sort of skirmish going on in the planet's orbit, which could prove troublesome..." The man said, which caused Anakin to raise his eyebrow slightly.

"What kind of skirmish?" He asked. Solo simply shrugged his shoulders, apparently not knowing.

"Probably just Hutt security battling some gangs... but we should still hurry up, so that we don't have to dodge their weapons too much." The pilot replied, after which Anakin silently nodded in understanding, and gently pulled Ahsoka with him, as he walked up the boarding ramp, and entered the Stellar Envoy. R2 followed closely behind them to the ship, rolling up the boarding ramp on his small wheels.

Immediately after entering the ship, Anakin looked around, seeing the curving main corridor, which would lead to the cockpit and the main hold to the right, and to the engineering bay and the crew quarters to the left. Ahsoka took his hand, as she pulled him towards the main hold, where Ventress had walked only a few seconds earlier.

As the two entered the main hold, they could see Ventress sitting down on a comfy looking seating, which looked like a couch. Set right next to the couch was a switched off _Dejarik_ table. Dejarik was a holographic strategy game played all around the Galaxy, being similar to the ancient chess game. Dejarik was among the most popular games played in casinos all around the Galaxy, being surpassed by only a few other games, including the likes of Pazaak and other games of chance.

Ventress looked like she was relaxed, implying that she had travelled aboard the Envoy before. Ahsoka bit her lip, and sat next to her old rival, who was leaning back on the comfy couch. R2 rolled over to the couch as well, and settled down next to the togruta girl, who patted his domed head gently. As Anakin turned his head around, Solo walked in to the main hold, clasping his hands together again, and letting out an exhale.

"Alright! You people just sit back and relax, and I'll get us into orbit.." The human man said, before taking a step towards the corridor leading to the cockpit. Solo stopped however, and turned back around, scratching the back of his neck.

"Uh... where exactly do you want me to take you..?" He then asked, staring at his three passengers. Anakin bit his lip, before opening his mouth only a few seconds later.

"Bespin... take us to Bespin." The Jedi Knight answered, which was met with Ahsoka and Ventress raising their eyebrows, as they didn't know what Anakin had planned to do on Bespin. Solo raised his eyebrows, scratching his head now.

"The Cloud City? Alright... as you wish.. I'll take us to the Bespin system then. Sit back, and enjoy the ride.." The pilot said, nodding his head.

The _Cloud City_ was a massive floating structure, built in the atmosphere of the gas giant planet Bespin. It served as the planet's capital city, and housed hundreds of thousands of residents, ranging from civilians, business entrepreneurs, and miners, who worked in the city's refineries to collect Bespin's natural gas; the valuable _tibanna_.

As Solo was about to leave the main hold for the cockpit, the sounds of approaching footsteps stopped him. Walking quickly from the port side corridor, a young human boy came to the main hold. Anakin and Ahsoka raised their eyebrows in surprise, seeing the boy, who looked at them with curiosity, while holding a rag, and wiping a wrench with it, his face slightly dirty from oil.

"Dad..? Who are these people...?" The young boy asked, fiddling with the rag and the wrench. Ventress chuckled quietly, turning to look at Jonash Solo.

"What's this? I thought you were joking about having a kid, Solo.." The dathomirian said with a smirk. Solo didn't pay attention to that, and instead inhaled quickly, before introducing his son to the trio.

"Han.. these are our guests. We'll be taking them to Bespin..." He said to the boy, who let out a quiet "ah", and nodded. The pilot then looked at his three passengers, pointing at his son.

"Ventress, Master Jedi... this is my son, _Han Solo_." Jonash introduced, after which Anakin and Ahsoka again looked at the boy. The young togruta woman smiled, and waved at him quickly.

"Hi there." Ahsoka said in a cheery way, to which the young boy smiled slightly, and waved back at her. Anakin simply nodded at the direction of Han, greeting him in that way. After that, Jonash clasped his hands together, and exhaled again.

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way, we'll get this bird moving. Han, I'll need your help in the cockpit.." The man said, heading towards the ship's bridge then. His son bit his lip, and nodded.

"Yes, dad.." Han said simply, following his father towards the cockpit. Anakin folded his arms as he looked at the two leaving. After a moment, he hummed quietly, and quickly glanced at the two seated ladies.

"I'll actually go join them on the bridge... you two try to enjoy the ride." The Jedi Knight announced, as he smiled at his togruta lover and former Padawan, who smiled as well, and nodded in acknowledgment.

As Anakin then made his way towards the cockpit, walking out of the main hold, Ventress and Ahsoka were left alone to sit on the couch. An awkward silence fell between them for a few moments, before the dathomirian mercenary bit her lip, and turned towards her former togruta rival.

"So... wanna play a match?" She asked with a slight smirk, pointing at the Dejarik table in front of the couch. Ahsoka raised her eyebrow, as she stared at Ventress, before starting to smirk as well.

"You do know you'd get beaten, right?" The togruta girl asked with a smirk, to which Ventress began to laugh at.

"Hah! You wish!" She replied, as she reached over to the game table, and turned it on. As the holographic game figures appeared on the board, Ahsoka and Ventress took positions on the opposite sides of the table, preparing to play against each other, as R2 looked on, seemingly anxious to see what would happen.

Approaching the cockpit, Anakin could hear the pilot and his son preparing the ship for takeoff, talking to each other as the readied all the systems. Coming to the bridge a moment later, the young Jedi Knight could notice all the details of the small cockpit. He had never been aboard a YT-1300 class freighter before, so this was all new to him. However, since he was an expert pilot himself, Anakin did recognize plenty of familiar looking displays and buttons all around the ship's dashboards.

"Han, turn on the gravity loss inhibitors.." Jonash said, switching on several small levers and buttons. His son nodded his head, turning on his chair to flick on two switches.

"Got it, dad!" Han replied, continuing to switch on more of the ship's systems, having done this plenty of times before. As Anakin quietly sat down on a chair behind the two, Jonash noticed him. The pilot hummed slightly, continuing to turn on the last of the Stellar Envoy's pre-flight systems.

"Hmm... decided to join us, Master Jedi? You know, I never caught your name... was it Skywater or something..?" The man asked, flicking on another switch, after which the ship came to life properly, its engines beginning to hum, as their power increased. Anakin chuckled slightly, shaking his head.

"Skywalker.. and my companion's name is Ahsoka." He answered, to which the pilot nodded his head, letting out a quiet "ah".

"Ah, right... I remember Ventress calling you that.." Solo said, as he continued to prepare the Envoy for liftoff. After a second, though, the man suddenly stopped, and turned around on his chair, staring at Anakin.

"Wait... Skywalker? Anakin Skywalker? You're like the biggest war hero for the Republic.. I've seen your name a plenty of times.." He explained, to which Anakin simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess my fame precedes me..." The Jedi Knight answered, which made the pilot scoff quietly.

"I really have no idea what a high and mighty Jedi Knight like you is doing hitching rides from a smuggler like me... you'd think that the Republic could get you to Bespin.." Solo stated, seeming a bit suspicious. Anakin responded with a slight smirk, and stared at the pilot.

"I thought that the deal was 'no questions asked', Solo. Let me worry about the Republic.. you just get us to Bespin, and get paid.. it's simple." He said with a smirk, to which Jonash frowned slightly, before slowly turning back around with his chair.

"Right... it's very simple.." The man said, before returning to ready the Envoy for liftoff. As his father was making the finishing touches, Han stood up, and flicked several switches on above his head.

"We're ready, dad!" The boy announced, to which his father nodded his head, placing his hands on the ship's controls.

Anakin smiled slightly, as he looked at the young Han Solo. The boy reminded him a lot about himself, when he used to be a young slave boy on Tatooine. Anakin had always been an excellent pilot, starting to fly and repair ships when he was less than seven years old. Flying was his greatest passion, and seeing a child that seemed to share this passion really warmed the young man's heart.

"Alright.. here we go!" Jonash said a bit louder, pushing the accelerator with his hand. Anakin took a hold of the chair's armrests, as the Envoy began shaking, and lifting off the ground.

The Corellian light freighter touched off the sandy ground, its large crescent shaped sublight engine glowing blue with immense power. The ship retracted its landing gear, as it rose up towards the sky. After rising above the docking bay's ceiling, the Stellar Envoy pitched up, after which the engines glowed brighter, as Solo pushed the ship's accelerator to nearly its maximum power.

In the following moments, the Envoy pushed itself towards the blue sky of Tatooine, quickly gaining altitude, as it approached the planet's upper atmosphere. In less than a minute, the Corellian freighter reached the upper layers of Tatooine's clouds, and flew further towards the atmosphere, and eventually the lower orbit. The journey towards Bespin had officially begun.

 **...**

The hearing hall inside the Separatist Senate Building on Raxus was on fire. Dozens of bodies, both organic and synthetic, littered the badly damaged floors. Squads of chiss soldiers and commandoes rummaged the large room, destroying anything in their path. The blue skinned near-humans shot their blaster carbines and rifles at the benches and computer consoles in the hall, destroying all the things that still reminded of the decayed and crumbled remains of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Admiral Thrawn of the Chiss Ascendancy's naval forces slowly walked inside the hall, his eyes gazing all around the burning room, as his men did not spare anything from their weapons. Sounds of explosions filled the hallways near, as the chiss soldiers used grenades to blow up anything that they could find. Everything that once was the Separatist Alliance was being destroyed.

The chiss admiral, high in the ranks of both the military and the political system, then walked over to a nearby hologram projector. As two chiss soldiers were about to turn their weapons at the emitter, Thrawn lifted his hand up, ordering them to halt. The soldiers obliged, and turned their attention elsewhere, as their commanding officer stepped over to machine, and placed a small device on its base.

After a few short moments, the a flickering hologram appeared on the projector. Shortly afterwards, the figure of Count Dooku appeared, looking at the chiss admiral in front of the emitter. Thrawn raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, moving his hands behind his back, and standing in attention.

"Darth Tyranus? I was expecting to be in contact with Lord Sidious..." The Admiral said, knowing that the leader of the Confederacy, Count Dooku, was really in on this plan, as it was part of the Gran Plan, that the Sith had been hatching for a millennia.

"My master is busy elsewhere... but I trust that you'll make do with reporting your progress to me, Admiral.." The elderly Sith Lord, formerly a powerful Jedi Master replied, his voice calm and collected, as Dooku usually was.

Thrawn cleared his throat, a sudden explosion nearby interrupting his train of thought. After a second, the admiral had collected himself again.

"Raxus has fallen, my lord. The civilians are fleeing the planet, or are killed in our crossfire with the last remaining droid defenders. The defending fleet was obliterated, and the nearby planets have fallen into our control as well. The Confederacy is finished..." Thrawn explained to the human Sith Lord, who nodded silently in acknowledgment. The elder man let out a quiet hum, as he stroked his white beard.

"Good work, Admiral.. you've proven your mettle to our cause with this victory. I recently got word that Serenno is in the process of falling to Republic forces, so the Clone War is more or less over... we have done well.." Dooku answered, to which his chiss ally smiled slightly, and nodded.

"Yes, my lord. Soon.. the Galaxy will be ready for the Empire..." Thrawn said with a smirk, having long dreamed of being part of something as great as taking over the Galaxy in the ranks of a strong and secure empire. Dooku hummed again, and slowly nodded his head.

"Indeed, Admiral. And a glorious Empire it shall be. I will report your success to my master... keep up to the good work, Thrawn.." The Sith Master said, after which the chiss admiral courteously bowed before him slightly.

"As you decree, my lord." Thrawn answered, showing his respect for the powerful Dark Side user.

After that exchange, the hologram of Darth Tyranus disappeared, the transmission ending. Admiral Thrawn let out a long exhale. He knew that working with Sith would always place him and his men, as well as the Chiss Ascendancy in the role of mere lackeys, doing the will of the Sith no matter what.

However, the admiral also knew that without the aid of the Sith, and an Empire under their leadership, the chiss would forever be bound to live in the Unknown Regions, completely isolated from the rest of the Galaxy. Cooperation with the Sith was necessary for the Chiss Ascendancy to ever hope to reach some sort of glory, and that was exactly what Thrawn aimed to do.

After a moment of pause, the admiral sighed, and returned his attention to the burning large room. The man bit his lip, and turned around, starting his long and slow walk towards the exit, as the rest of the squads of chiss soldiers also proceeded to clear out, due to the ceiling of the room beginning to slowly collapse.

With the destruction of their senate building, the largest structure in the city, the capital world of the Separatist Alliance was soon to be a smoking ruin, thousands of civilians being forced to fend for themselves as the chiss occupiers would leave after their bloody business. Once a prosperous and beautiful planet, Raxus would become a small backwater world, falling to depression and famine. The memory of the Separatist war machine and massive following would also in time become a simple footnote in galactic history.

 **...**

The deserts of Tatooine were being left behind, as the Stellar Envoy flew through the planet's lower orbit. The highest of the clouds were long past the Corellian freighter, as it approached the planet's higher orbit. In the ship's cockpit, Anakin leaned forward on his chair, squinting his eyes as he looked out the window. He had spotted something.

"What is that..?" The Jedi Knight asked, not quite able to make out the object that was far away. Jonash Solo raised his eyebrow, not seeing anything.

"I don't see a thing.." The pilot said, shrugging his shoulders.

Out of the blue, a flaming starship came into the view of the three people in the cockpit, heading straight towards the Envoy. Gasping loudly, Solo grabbed the ship's controls tightly, steering it past the spinning ship.

"What the!?" He exclaimed loudly, his son Han grabbing the co-pilot's controls as well. As the Envoy dodged the flaming wreckage, it steered to its left.

Immediately afterwards, right in front of their eyes opened up a magnificent, as well as a horrifying sight. Dozens of ships littered the higher orbit of Tatooine, being engaged in brutal combat. Several Venator-class star destroyers, Acclamator-class assault ships fired upon dozens of smaller and fast moving attack ships, most of which were the size of corvettes, or small frigates. Dozens of Alpha-3 starfighters, and ARC-170 fighters engaged the corvettes as well, also attacking a few squadrons of Hutt employed starfighters.

"Well I'll be damned..." Solo said quieter, doing his best to dodge any and all stray turbolaser shots, or the dozens of fighters that flew past them. Anakin's eyes were wide, and his heart was pounding. The Republic had begun and invasion of Tatooine.

"It's the Republic.." The Jedi Knight said to himself. Solo bit his lip, as he dodged an exploding starfighter.

"Well, shouldn't we just contact them, and let them know that one of their Jedi Generals is safe?" The man suggested, but Anakin shook his head. He knew that the Jedi would question him about Quinlan and Aayla, and that they would never accept his relationship with Ahsoka.

"No! Try to get us past the fleet... we need to get to Bespin!" He said quickly, to which the human pilot raised his eyebrow again, as he quickly glanced at his son, who was looking back at him.

"I thought that you were with the Republic... but alright.. we'll do as you say." Solo answered, as he tapped his son's shoulder.

"Han, divert power to the frontal shields! The Republic ships might think of us being the enemy.." He said, to which his son quickly nodded his head, and began to press tons of buttons.

"Shields are up! Diverting secondary power to the supercharger!" Han replied, his hands moving fast on the dashboard, pressing buttons and flicking switches.

Anakin raised his eyebrows slightly, as he heard that. Knowing a lot about ships, he knew that the YT-1300 freighter did not have impressive hardware, which led him to believe that the Solos had made extensive modifications to the Envoy. Having a supercharger installed to the ship's engines was not something that most freighters would have. Anakin also suspected that the ship's weaponry was modified to greater effect, which could explain how the father and his son had stayed seemingly unharmed during their smuggling career. In Hutt Space especially, thousands of smuggler ships were destroyed by pirates and Hutt enforcers every year, as they usually had pretty ineffective weapons.

"Be ready to fire up that charger, son!" Solo yelled, as he pushed in the accelerator, and steered the envoy towards one of the Venator-class star destroyers.

Dozens of fighters from both sides of the battle buzzed around the YT-1300 series freighter, with some of them taking potshots at it. The shots bounced off the ship's enhanced shields, as it made its way towards the bow of the Venator-class cruiser. The Republic star destroyer opened fire against the Envoy, its smaller turbolasers attempting to hit it. They more than likely thought that the modified Corellian freighter was part of the Hutt forces.

Anakin's heart began to beat faster, as Solo flew the Envoy over the bow of the Venator, and proceeded to fly over the large dorsal hangar bay, which was semi-closed at the moment. The turbolaser towers attempted to hit the Corellian freighter, but with no luck. The ship was far too fast for them.

As the Envoy flew up, and approached the two bridges of the Venator-class star destroyer, Anakin felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. Looking up and beside him, he could see Ahsoka standing near him, squeezing his forehead with her hand. A slight smile appeared on the man's face, and he gently touched his togruta lover's hand with his own.

"Hang on, everyone! Han, do it!" Jonash ordered, after which his son nodded, and quickly pulled a lever near him.

The following jump in the ship's speed caught Anakin and Ahsoka off guard. With a slight scream, Ahsoka was pulled back by the g-forces, slamming against the back wall of the cockpit. Anakin clenched his teeth together, and took a better hold on his chair, while the young togruta grabbed the wall behind her, trying to keep herself still.

The Stellar Envoy pushed itself forwards with great speed, flying towards the two bridges of the Venator-class star destroyer ahead. Solo then steered the ship on its side, and flew between the bridge towers of the Republic cruiser. The cruiser's turbolaser now could not even hope to hit the freighter, as it sped off into the distance, flying away from the Venator. After flying past a nearby Acclamator-class assault ship, the Envoy had cleared the Republic fleet, and was fee to jump to hyperspace.

"Great job, son! Alright... everyone hang on again.. we're jumping to lightspeed!" Solo announced, using the ship's controls to decrease its speed, as he prepared it for hyperspace.

Ahsoka then walked over to Anakin, sitting down on the chair next to him. She breathed slightly heavy, as she looked at the young human man. With a smile, she reached out with her hand, which Anakin took into his own.

"We made it, Ani.." She whispered. Anakin smiled, and gently rubbed his thumb on her hand.

"Yeah, we did." He answered quietly. As the two of the kept staring into each other's eyes, both smiling, Solo and his son worked quickly on the Envoy's dashboard.

"All set... and we are go!" The human pilot announced, his hand pulling the hyperspace lever.

As Anakin quickly turned his head to look out the window, he could see the stars elongate, getting longer and thinner. A few seconds later, the Stellar Envoy jumped to hyperspace, leaving Tatooine, and the battle over it behind. The group had successfully escaped the desert planet, and their destination next was to reach the gas giant Bespin. What Anakin had planned to do there remained a mystery, but the young Jedi Knight had something in his mind nevertheless.

 **...**

Aboard the command bridge of the Venator-class star destroyer Venture, the veteran admiral of the Republic Navy, Shoan Kilian silently stood near the windows, calmly looking out in the space near Tatooine's orbit, witnessing the battle unfolding before his eyes. The Hutt forces were being destroyed by the technologically more advanced ships of the Republic, as only few of the enemy ships remained after only ten minutes of active combat.

As the battle dwindled down, the wreckage of the obliterated Hutt ships littering the orbit of the desert planet, the bald and bearded human man placed his hands behind his back. As his subordinate, a clone lieutenant who served as one of the executive officers of the ship came to stand next to the admiral, Kilian turned towards the clone.

"Did you run a diagnostics for that Corellian light freighter that passed us before?" The aging man asked, to which the loyal and always able clone answered with a quick nod.

"Yes, sir. It appeared to be a simply cargo hauler, with extensive modifications. We couldn't get the registration number off of it, so we can't find out what ship it was exactly." The officer explained, after which his commanding officer simply scoffed, and waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, forget it. It was probably just a spice runner... they always modify their ships to outrun Republic and Hutt authorities.." Kilian said with a slight chuckle, at which the clone officer raised his eyebrow, but simply nodded in response. After that, the admiral looked at him again.

"Inform Commander Bly that his forces should be ready to deploy in less than five minutes. We'll make our way into the planet's atmosphere, and provide overhead cover for them on the surface." Kilian ordered in a professional manner, which was met with the clone lieutenant nodding and saluting him.

"Right way, sir!" The clone replied, quickly walking away from the admiral afterwards, and heading towards the communication consoles, from where he could contact the commanding clone officer of the 327th Star Corps.

As the experienced and worn out admiral returned to gaze out of the windows, the Republic fleet began to approach Tatooine's orbit, intending to enter its atmosphere. The surviving fighters and bombers of the fleet returned to their mother ships, docking inside the hangars of the Venator-class star destroyers, and the Acclamator-class assault ships.

Kilian sighed quietly, as he stared out the window. The aging man had seen countless of bloody battles during this war, and it all had taken a toll on him. A professional soldier like him knew the realities of war, and Kilian liked to think that it made him a better commanding officer, as it took much more brutality to affect him, than a regular grunt.

However, after nearly four years of endless death, slaughter and destruction, the admiral had grown slightly tired of war. Even before the Clone Wars, he had been part of the _Republic's Judicial Forces_ , having been deployed to various crises in the Galaxy, which made him witness more death than he could sometimes bear. Seeing his men, and even friends die was something that any hardened soldier had to accept, but it never became any easier, no matter how many wars he had been in.

Inhaling long and deep, Kilian moved his thoughts to more pleasant things. After the war's end, he figured that for all that he had given the Republic, he'd be given something back. A secured and comfortable retirement in the beautiful mountain regions of _Anaxes_ sounded more than enough for the lifelong military officer, and he hoped to see his servitude come to an honorable end, even if he had to conquer a few more worlds in the name of the Supreme Chancellor.

 **...**

The sarlacc of the Great Pit of Carkoon let out an audible whine, as it tried to move burning debris out of its pit, using the long tendrils grab and drag the metallic pieces away. Near the sarlacc's pit of doom, the burning wreckage of the late Jabba the Hutt's personal sail barge the Khetanna laid destroyed on the sand dune.

Limping across the scene, the injured twi'lek Jedi Master Aayla Secura panted slightly, holding her side, which was bleeding. She had been badly injured in the massive explosion earlier, although she had been off the sail barge's deck at the time. She had a badly burned wound on her shoulder, courtesy of the duros bounty hunter Cad Bane, as well as several cuts and injuries, both mild and severe.

Looking around the scene of destruction, the twi'lek woman desperately tried to locate her former master, Quinlan Vos, who had also been with her on the sail barge only a short while earlier. Aayla didn't know if Quinlan was alive, or even at the Great Pit of Carkoon anymore; he could have escaped for all she knew, but her gut was telling that her former master was still here, and she needed to find him.

After a moment of looking, to her utter shock Aayla managed to locate Quinlan's unmoving body, amid large chunks of debris, and charred bodies of Jabba's dead crew. Letting out a gasp, the twi'lek woman quickly made her way to the kiffar man, who was lying still on the sand, his body burned badly.

As Aayla got to her former master, she fell on her knees, tears starting to form in her eyes. She took the unmoving man in her arms, holding him against her body, as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She checked Quinlan's pulse, and found it. More tears dropped from her eyes, as she exhaled deeply.

"Oh, thank the Force..." She whispered, relief filling her mind, as she had feared so much that her master was dead.

Quinlan was alive, but gravely, and perhaps even mortally injured. Aayla did not know how to use Force healing, and since they were in the middle of the desert, there weren't any ingredients around that she needed to create healing salves and concoctions. She was badly injured as well, but the Jedi Master's mind was focused on trying keep her former teacher alive.

The loud noise of approaching vehicles got Aayla's attention then, and she looked up to the sky. Holding her hand in front of the sun to protect her eyes, she could then see three Republic LAAT/i gunships approaching the area. Sighing in relief, she gently combed Quinlan's braided hair. The Republic had gotten her distress signal, and was coming to help them.

The three gunships landed nearby, pushing dust off from the ground. The doors to the passenger compartments opened, and squads of clone troopers disembarked from the ships. The clones formed a perimeter around the two Jedi Masters, as they noticed them. The clones were all part of the 327th Star Corps, which Aayla was the commanding Jedi officer of.

Wearing a distinctive kama leathery "skirt" on his waist, and a protective pauldron, the commanding clone officer of the squad ran towards Aayla. The twi'lek Jedi Master looked up, recognizing the clone. She sighed deeply, as she still held Quinlan in her arms.

"Galle.. help us..." She pleaded, as the clone got closer to them. The clone was Lieutenant _CT-6734_ , nicknamed _Galle_.

The clone soldier's eyes widened behind his helmet, as he could see the injuries his commanding Jedi officers had. Without hesitation, Galle turned around, motioning his subordinates to come to him.

"Medic! We need a medic right now, move it!" He shouted orders at his men, rushing them to Aayla's and Quinlan's side. As the clones with medical kits ran to the two Jedi Masters, beginning to aid them, the clone lieutenant took a few steps away from them, his eyes scanning the nearby area.

"And keep away from that sarlacc, men!" Galle instructed further, pointing at the nearby sarlacc pit.

Like his commanding officer Bly, the clone lieutenant was a professional and effective soldier. Unlike Bly though, Galle was known to be harsher in his manner of leading, giving him the reputation of a strict commander. However, his strictness had worked on his men, as they were among the finest soldiers in the Republic's military.

As the clones brought stretchers for both Aayla and Quinlan, and carefully placed the Jedi on them, Galle walked over to the twi'lek general, who sighed deeply as she lied on the stretcher. She then looked at her loyal clone subordinate, a smile appearing on her roughed up face.

"Thank you, Galle.." Aayla whispered with a smile. The clone simply saluted her, though she wondered if Galle smiled under his helmet.

"Part of the job, General... let's get you and Master Vos home." He replied, after which he turned his attention back to his men. Returning to his strict commander shtick, Galle motioned his men to move.

"Move it! We need to get them to a medical ward, now! Hurry it up, grunts!" The Lieutenant shouted, causing his subordinates to make haste back to the gunships, where they loaded the two injured Jedi aboard.

In a few moments, all the clones had embarked the LAAT/i gunships, with Lieutenant Galle leaving the area last, boarding one of the ships. Sitting down in the passenger compartment, right next to the two injured Jedi Masters, the clone officer took out his holocommunicator to reach out to Bly, who was currently leading the invasion of Tatooine dozens of kilometers away.

As the doors closed, all three of the gunships fired up their engines, and soon afterwards lifted off the sandy ground. The ships then flew away from the scene of destruction, leaving the burning remains of the Khetanna, and the lone sarlacc of the Great Pit of Carkoon behind. The gunships flew fast towards the sunny sky of Tatooine, making haste to one of the Venator-class star destroyers stationed in the planet's orbit.

Aayla and Quinlan had failed to bring Anakin back with them, as the young human Jedi Knight had simply vanished now. The twi'lek master figured that Anakin had seen it miscarry for himself to escape and go underground with Ahsoka, especially as he likely had no idea if Aayla and Quinlan were still alive. That, coupled with his apparent romantic relationship with his former Padawan were good reasons for him to do his best to avoid the Jedi from now on.

Still, Aayla knew that she'd have to report everything back to her fellow Jedi Council members, and she was not looking forward to that. The mission she and Quinlan had went on with confident minds had taken a turn to the worse, and its utter failure was something she had never expected. Her former master being gravely wounded was also a cause of intense concern for her, and she wished beyond anything, that she could soon talk to him again.

Even though the Jedi frowned upon attachment, and she herself had long since let Quinlan go, seeing him battling for his life was something that Aayla couldn't ignore, and the waterfall of feelings was getting the better of her. All she could hope, was that Quinlan would recover quickly, and that she could return to her mission to find Anakin again, and bring him back to the Jedi Order.


	12. Chapter 11: Ambush

**Chapter 11: Ambush**

The dark space outside of the Invisible Hand's conning tower was calm, as the small fleet of Count Dooku's remaining Confederate ships slowly glided forward. The former Jedi Master, and now a prominent Sith Lord Dooku silently stood inside the conning tower's general's quarters, his weequay ally and apprentice Sora Bulq standing right beside him. Previously General Grievous' ship, Dooku had requisitioned the Invisible Hand from the kaleesh cyborg, taking control of it, as the Separatist Alliance was quickly falling apart around them.

As Utapau had been attacked just recently, contact with General Grievous had ceased after a while. Dooku figured that his personal assassin, bodyguard and apprentice had met his end, most likely at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was the former Jedi Padawan of his own Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn, whom he had taught decades ago. Qui-Gon's death had been the catalyst for the Count to embrace the Dark Side, and bring himself under the teaching of Darth Sidious.

The elder human man silently stared out of the large windows, his hands behind his back. His weequay apprentice had his arms crossed, gently tapping his foot on the floor in impatience. They could then hear the sound of the quarters' doors opening, and someone walking in, their footsteps echoing in the silent room.

As Dooku and Bulq turned around, they could see Lord Sidious' newest Sith apprentice Barriss Offee approaching them. The weequay man's face immediately turned sour, his human master having a calm and collected expression on his face though. Barriss walked to the two men with a confident smile, which turned into a slight smirk, as she glanced at her rival Bulq.

"Lord Sidious asked me to come here.. so let's get down to business; what is my mission?" The mirialan woman asked, placing her hand on her hip. Bulq frowned deeply, wanting to lash out at the arrogant young woman. Dooku simply cleared his throat, and motioned Barriss to step over to a nearby table.

"This mission is not only for you, Barriss.. we'll all be part of this." The Sith Lord explained, as he walked over to the conference table.

As Barriss and Bulq did the same, the weequay man walked over to the hologram projector on the table, and turned it on. A holographic picture of an elder human man, donned in traditional Jedi robes appeared. Barriss' eyes immediately widened, as she recognized the man.

"Master Altis..." She said, almost whispering. Dooku nodded his head, placing his hands behind his back again.

"Master _Djinn Altis_ , the leader of the Altisian Jedi, is our target. He, along with his entire little faction of Jedi must be destroyed..." He explained, to which Barriss raised her eyebrows.

The Altisian Jedi were a rogue faction of the Jedi Order, consisting of former Jedi, who left the Order to join Djinn Altis, and his community. Altis had been a prominent Jedi Master for years, before he decided to seek a different path in life, and left the Order to found his own. Dozens of non-Jedi were part of the organization as well, and they allowed anyone to join their ranks, regardless of their background.

The Jedi in the faction rejected the formal Jedi Code, allowing love and families amongst their community, whilst thriving towards compassion and kindness. Even though they had their hearts in the right place, the Jedi Order still denounced Altis and his flock. But, despite that, the relationship between the two orders was still warm enough, that they kept occasional contact with each other.

"Why are we targeting them? They're not in our way, are they?" Barriss asked, not sure about why they'd need to attack the Altisian Jedi. Bulq then frowned and leaned on the table.

"Because they are Jedi, and they need to die. And this will apparently be one of your tests again.." The weequay Dark Jedi said, rolling his eyes. Barriss frowned then too, and turned her glance at Dooku, her expression slightly outraged.

"Another test!? I thought I proved myself to Darth Sidious already!" She exclaimed, to which the human Sith Lord frowned slightly, and hummed.

"Just because you are my master's new apprentice, it does not mean that you won't continue to be tested, Barriss. A Sith will always be tested for their power and resolve.. don't think you are in some special position now, young one..." Dooku replied in a calm, yet strong voice.

Barriss squeezed her hands into fists, clenching her teeth together. The amount of hate she had for both Dooku and Bulq was stronger than the mirialan woman wanted to admit, and she wanted nothing else but to be able to kill them both, so that she could rise to the top, when it came to the Sith power ladder. But, she knew that her master wanted her to cooperate with the two men, for now at least. Letting out a slight sigh, Barriss leaned on the table, biting her lip.

"Fine... how do we proceed then?" She asked, glancing between Dooku and Bulq. As the weequay man crossed his arms, the human Sith Lord pressed a few buttons on the console near him on the table. The holographic image of Djinn Altis disappeared, and an image of a _dreadnaught-class_ cruiser appeared on its place.

"We have informants onboard Altis' ship, the _Peacemaker_. They have informed us that the ship is heading towards _Belsavis_ , but will make a refueling stop at Hoth. We will intercept them there, board the Peacemaker, and kill everyone inside.. including our informants..." Dooku explained calmly, which caused both Barriss and Bulq to smirk devilishly. The both of them were clearly looking forward to some violence.

"After dealing with these rogue Jedi, we'll be one step closer to initiating the Gran Plan, and wipe out the entire Jedi Order. I trust that both of you are ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to reach that goal?" The Sith Lord then asked, to which both of the acolytes nodded their heads.

"I've been ready for a long time! The Altisian Jedi will be no match for us.. and the rest of the Jedi will follow them soon after!" Barriss declared confidently, squeezing her hand, and smirking. Bulq rolled his eyes again, seeing that the young woman boasted more every time he saw her.

"You definitely were ready back when I beat you on Yavin.." The weequay man said, which caused Barriss to frown, and squeeze her hands tighter.

"I'll show you how prepared I am, Bulq.. I hope you're ready to be embarrassed in front of your master!" She said louder, taking a step towards the man next to her, ready to lash out at him. Dooku frowned now as well, and lifted his hand up.

"Enough! You two are acting like children, and it ends now! We will travel to Hoth, and take out Altis and his flock.. am I understood? Everything else can wait... am I understood?" The old human Sith Lord asked loudly, acting as if he were the two acolyte's strict father. Both Bulq and Barriss frowned at each other, before the mirialan sighed, and took a step back.

"Yes.. Lord Tyranus..." She said, bowing her head slightly. Barriss absolutely hated being humble in front of Dooku, but she knew that if she jeopardized the mission by attacking him or Bulq, she would surely face the wrath of her master.

"Of course, master.." Bulq said, doing the same as the mirialan Sith apprentice. Dooku exhaled, nodding his head in relief.

"Good. Now.. go prepare for the mission, will you, Barriss? We will inform you when we reach Hoth.." The Sith Lord said, to which Barriss bit her lip, still clearly distasted. She however sighed, and nodded, before turning around, and walking back towards the exit.

After the mirialan woman left the general's quarters, walking up the stairs, and exiting through the door, heading to the elevators, that lied beyond a short hallway. Bulq walked over to his Sith Master, crossing his arms, as he looked at Barriss leaving.

"Just let me kill her, while we're on the mission, master... she'll be nothing but trouble for us.." The weequay man said, but Dooku calmly placed his hand on his apprentice's shoulder.

"Be patient just a bit longer, Sora.. you'll get your chance soon enough. Barriss will bring about her own downfall with her actions... don't worry about that.." He assured to his eager apprentice, who sighed, and nodded in understanding.

"If you say so, master..." Bulq replied, wanting so badly to just drive his lightsaber through Barriss' back, but he knew better not to question his master.

Even though he had been a prominent Jedi Master in the Order, Bulq knew that Dooku was way stronger than him, and that he needed to stay humble in front of him, and do everything he could to please him. If being a Jedi for decades had taught him anything, it was that being a good apprentice was the best way to get far in life, and have the best chances at becoming the master himself one day.

The two men then stayed on the conning tower's quarters, preparing themselves for the upcoming mission, and the challenges they'd have to face. Both Dooku and Bulq had killed plenty of Jedi in their time, yet it never became any less challenging. Jedi would always be their greatest adversaries, and people whose talents could never be taken for granted. The Altisian Jedi, even though not being part of the proper Order, were still Jedi. They had the same training, and would be just as dangerous, if not even more dangerous, compared to other Jedi.

 **...**

Slight chatter filled the air inside the Stellar Envoy's main hold. The young togruta woman Ahsoka Tano, was crouched down next to the faithful, and loyal astromech droid R2-D2, cleaning out his hull, and some of the inner parts, as well as doing slight maintenance. The dathomiri bounty hunter and former assassin Asajj Ventress, was sitting on the nearby couch, playing a game of Dejarik with the ship's young co-pilot, Han Solo.

As Ahsoka used a rag to wipe off some oil from R2's leg, Ventress groaned in frustration, throwing her arms in the air, before falling back on the couch, her face stale and annoyed. Han had a wide smirk on his face.

"Oh come on! You have to be cheating in some way, kid..." The woman said with a slight frown, crossing her arms like a grumpy little girl. Han chuckled, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Or maybe I'm just better than you?" The young boy asked with a smirk, to which Ventress rolled her eyes, not wanting to admit defeat. Ahsoka laughed, and glanced at the two.

"About time someone put you in your place.." She said, winking her eye at the dathomiri woman, who groaned again.

"Oh, don't you even start.." Ventress replied in annoyance, returning her attention to Han, as Ahsoka continued to laugh in the background.

"I've got to hand it to you, kid... you can definitely play Dejarik. But are you as good at pazaak, I wonder?" She asked the young boy, winking her eye slightly. Han smirked, and leaned back on his seat.

"You don't want to test it... I'll let you know that even my dad can't beat me on pazaak.." He replied with a smug smile, which made the dathomirian woman laugh.

"Your dad can't beat anyone at pazaak, Han... and I talk from experience.." Ventress stated, laughing wholeheartedly, as the young boy bit his lip, before smiling in a smug way again.

"Well.. I can promise you that I'm nothing like my father, when it comes to gambling..." Han replied, smirking. Ventress raised her eyebrows, before chuckling quietly, and leaning forward against the Dejarik table.

"Is that a challenge, little Solo? Be careful what you wish for.. cause when there's money involved, I'm a lot tougher opponent than this..." She said with a wink, wishing that the young boy would not heed her warning, and instead would challenge her for a game.

Ahsoka heard that, and raised her brows as she turned to glance at Ventress. R2 chirped quietly, making a sarcastic remark, which caused the young togruta to smile a bit, as she put away the rag, and closed all of the small droid's hatches.

"Don't try to scam him, Ventress... we both know you'd use the Force to win that game." She said with a smile, to which the dathomirian scoffed quietly, and rubbed her forehead.

"You just have to spoil all the fun, Tano..." Ventress replied, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Ahsoka laughed at that, standing up, and walking over to the table. Han chuckled as well, shutting down the holographic board game.

"You know, it's fun to have some passengers every now and then... it gets rather boring to only be with my dad here.." The boy explained, his hands leaned on the table. Ahsoka smiled warmly, thinking that the bright young lad was likeable.

"You don't have many friends I assume? You spend most of your time on this ship, travelling across the Galaxy with your father?" The togruta girl asked, crossing her arms as she looked at Han, who nodded silently.

"Yeah... I haven't been to our home on Corellia for years. After my mom died, dad has just kept us smuggling nonstop. I don't mind it too much... but it would be nice to spend some time at home as well.." He replied, sighing ever so slightly. Ahsoka could understand Han's feelings. For months, she had missed being with Anakin and the Jedi after she had left. It took her such a long time to finally move on with her life, and she couldn't imagine how hard such things would be for a boy half her age.

"What kind of a home do you have on Corellia? I bet its way nicer than being stuck on the Envoy.." Ahsoka then said, to which Han scoffed quietly, and nodded again.

"Hanging around in a ship for months isn't exactly leisure... and I don't even like the name _Stellar Envoy_.. I don't know why dad named her that way..." He said, looking around the main hold. Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, and quickly glanced at Ventress.

"Oh? What would you have named the ship then?" She asked with a smile, looking back at the boy, who bit his lip, and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know... I guess I'd want it to be something unique.. something that will stick to peoples' minds... like.. _Millennium Falcon_.. or something like that.." Han answered, stroking his chin a bit. Ahsoka began to smile widely, showing her white teeth as well, as she grinned.

"Ooh! I like that.. it's very catchy!" She said with a slight laugh, really thinking that the young boy had come up with a good name. Ventress rolled her eyes, and sighed ever so slightly.

"Oh for crying out loud..." The woman whispered to herself, which Ahsoka could only barely hear. The togruta girl rolled her eyes as well, though still smiling, as she knew that the formerly evil woman had made a complete change of character over the years they had known each other.

The Envoy shook slightly after a short moment, causing Ahsoka to stagger on her feet a bit. She raised her eyebrow, looking around. Han chuckled, and waved his hand dismissively.

"No worries.. the ship is just having some turbulence. She likes to jump around a bit in hyperspace... nothing to worry about." He reassured the two women, after which Ventress scoffed, and crossed her arms.

"I hope this all was worth it... I certainly have had enough of this old junk of a ship already.." The dathomirian mercenary said, leaning back on the seat again. Ahsoka chuckled, and glanced at her former rival.

"Do something different for a change, and think positively... okay, Ventress?" She asked, winking her eye at the woman, who frowned, and rolled her eyes, letting out a silent sigh as well.

The three of them stayed in the main hold, socializing for the next several moments, as R2 rolled his way to a nearby wall, and shut himself down to rest. In the meanwhile, the Stellar Envoy raced in hyperspace towards Bespin, and towards their next objective.

 **...**

Quiet sounds of dining filled the atmosphere inside the Queen Mother of the Hapes Cluster's personal warship's dining hall. Seated on the opposite sides of a dinner table, filled with all sorts of hapan cuisine, were Ta'a Chume, and the young Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam, who was the Queen Mother's prisoner.

The young human woman silently stared at the nearby Queen Mother, and took a bite off some hapan vegetables, served together with hapan river fish. Ta'a Chume had an eerily happy look on her face, as she gracefully ate her meal, while Kriza was being very careful and held back, slowly eating the contents of her plate. The Queen Mother hummed quietly, smiling as she glanced at Kriza.

"Relax a bit, dear.. the food isn't poisoned or anything.. I'm just trying to be a good hostess." She assured, taking another bite of her food. Kriza raised her eyebrow, swallowing the piece that she had been chewing on.

"It's a bit funny for you to be such a gracious host now.. considering that I spent days inside a cell at first, roughed up and not being fed at all..." The young woman answered, to which the Queen Mother bit her lip, and sighed.

"You're being a bit unfair to me, Kriza... you know that prisoners aren't usually treated like royalty. And I did order my men to feed you, but they defied that order... and I will deal with them in time.." Ta'a Chume explained, her voice sounding sincere. Kriza could sense with her powers, that the Queen Mother was telling the truth, but that only made her more suspicious.

"If you say so... Queen Mother..." She replied quietly, taking another bite of her food. The Queen Mother clenched her teeth together, before scoffing quietly, and starting to smile again.

"Let's change the subject... I want to talk about your powers more.." Ta'a Chume said, leaning forward slightly, as Kriza sighed deeply, placing her cutlery on the table.

"What is there to talk about it? You've seen my powers in action.. what more do you want?" She asked, not being excited at all with the idea of entertaining the Queen Mother, who was smirking right now.

"I've read that your ancestor, _Jaesa Willsaam_ was able to scan entire planets or quadrants of the Galaxy with her powers... sensing all sorts of things about the people inside those fields.." Ta'a Chume said, crossing her hands with a smile. The young woman in front of her raised her eyebrows, and crossed her arms.

"I don't think that I could ever be as strong as my ancestor Jaesa.. but I'm the only Willsaam with these powers currently..." Kriza answered, not exactly knowing where the rest of her family were, as she had been cut off from them since her infancy. But she knew that no one else in the Willsaam family was Force sensitive, other than her.

"Don't sell yourself short, dearie.. I'm sure you can be just as powerful as your ancestor, if you just give yourself that chance." The Queen Mother stated, smiling and taking a glass of wine into her hand, and taking a sip of it. Kriza frowned slightly, leaning back on her seat.

"Well, kind of hard to give it a chance, since I'm your captive..." She replied, to which the Queen chuckled, and took another sip of her drink.

"Oh, but you wouldn't need to be my captive, Kriza. If you'd join my cause, I could put your powers to use..." Ta'a Chume suggested, the wineglass still in her hands. The young Jedi Padawan scoffed, and shook her head.

"Yeah... I'll pass, your highness.." Kriza said, not wanting anything to do with the fallen Jedi Knight turned Queen Mother. The red haired woman in front of her laughed, and placed the glass down, slowly getting up from her seat.

"You'd be making a mistake, Kriza. Your true potential can never be unlocked, while you're with the Jedi... they will always hold you down.." Ta'a Chume assured, slowly walking past the table, and towards Kriza, who frowned deeper, as she looked at the Queen Mother.

"A Jedi does not care for glory... a Jedi does not go seek fortune, or work to further their own interests. A Jedi only works to help others.. and never only themselves. You used to know all of this, your highness..." She said quietly, looking at Ta'a Chume's eyes, who raised her eyebrow, and bit her lip.

"Yes... I did.. but I realized that the Jedi were holding be back. With them, I could have never achieved any of this, and I'm much better off without them.." The hapan woman answered, to which Kriza scoffed quietly, looking into her eyes.

"You're telling the truth, but I also sense how unsure you are about all this... I can sense how conflicted you are about your feelings toward the Jedi... not so much about the Republic.." She said, using her powers to detect the Queen Mother's feelings. Ta'a Chume smirked, and hummed quietly.

"I think that was easy for you to determine. But I suggest that you still think about my offer, Kriza.. we could go far together. Join me, and we can end the wars of the Republic, and bring peace to the Galaxy.." She offered, her voice filled with ambition. Kriza shook her head, knowing all too well what ambition could cause a Jedi to become.

"Only Jedi can bring peace to the Galaxy... and you're not one of us.." The young Jedi Padawan replied, her face stern and collected. The Queen Mother frowned slightly, standing right next to the young woman. She then sighed, and gently touched Kriza's cheek.

"You're wasting so much potential, Kriza... I can see how powerful you are.. you could become so much more, if you only joined me in my effort to restore the Galaxy to peace and order.." She explained, to which the Jedi Padawan scoffed quietly, and looked into her eyes. Kriza slowly moved her hand to a knife on the table, while continuing to stare into Ta'a Chume's eyes.

"Unlike you, I won't betray the Jedi... ever.. my lady..." The young woman said quietly, frowning slightly. The Queen Mother raised her eyebrow, but started to smile then.

Out of the blue, Kriza grabbed the knife on the table, and with lightning speed struck it into Ta'a Chume's thigh. The hapan woman clenched her teeth together, and groaned, falling on her knee. Kriza in the meanwhile quickly jumped up from the seat, and turned towards the dining hall's exit.

The two Royal Guardsmen at the door saw the entire ordeal, and grabbed their weapons, charging at the young Jedi.

"My Queen!" One of the guards shouted, as he attempted to attack Kriza. She however quickly pushed the two guards against the nearby wall with the Force, smashing them violently against the walls.

As the guards fell on the floor, incapacitated, the young Jedi Padawan grabbed one of their pistols, and quickly ran through the dining hall's doors, starting to head towards the escape pods, which would be nearby.

After a moment, the Queen Mother groaned again, and grabbed the knife stuck in her thigh. Clenching her teeth together, she pulled the weapon out of her skin, allowing blood to start dripping from the wound. Not paying attention to that, Ta'a Chume took a deep breath, and stood up, breathing heavier.

"She's feisty.. I give her that..." She said to herself, grinning slightly, as she began to walk into the direction that Kriza had taken.

Quickening her pace slightly, the Queen Mother grabbed her lightsaber from her belt, activating its yellowish-orange blade. She had given Kriza a chance to change her ways, and become something great, but the young girl had rejected her in quite an unique fashion. The Queen Mother smiled, as she knew she wouldn't kill her, but she definitely wanted to teach the young and brash girl a lesson. A lesson which would hurt, and quite a lot.

 **...**

The Stellar Envoy jumped out of hyperspace, entering "real space" near the icy planet of Hoth. The icy and barren planet had never been inhabited by organized settlers in the thousands of years it had been charted by the Republic, and the other governments in the Outer Rim. Hoth had not been unsettled completely however, as thousands of _talz_ and _ortolans_ attempted to colonize it in the decades leading to the _Cold War_ , thousands of years ago. Their attempts were thwarted by the Sith Empire, however.

Inside the Corellian freighter's cockpit, Anakin Skywalker raised his eyebrows, as he noticed the ice planet in front of the windows. The Jedi Knight turned towards the human man sitting next to him, Jonash Solo, who was piloting the Envoy.

"What are we doing on Hoth? I told you that we need to get to Bespin.." Anakin said to Solo, who nodded in agreement, lifting his hand up slightly.

"No worries... I'm just stopping to get some fuel.. it seems that the reserves are quite low. We wouldn't get to Bespin with just fumes, so I hope you can be patient for slightly longer still..." The pilot replied calmly, his hands on the ship's controls. Anakin frowned slightly, and sighed, nodding.

"Yeah.. take your time..." He responded quietly, not liking to wait longer, but knew it was necessary.

As Solo steered the Envoy towards the nearby fueling station, Anakin's eyes scanned the station, and the many ships docked in with it, all in the process of refueling. After a moment, the human man's eyes widened, and locked in on one such ship, which was docked with the station.

"Woah, woah.. what is that?" He said, pointing at the ship. Solo raised his eyebrows, and stared at the large vessel, before opening his mouth.

"Uuh.. that is a Dreadnaught-class cruiser, Master Jedi..." The pilot answered, not sure what Anakin was getting at. A smirk appeared on the Jedi Knight's face, as he recognized the ship after a moment.

"Well, seems like we don't need to get to Bespin after all... we just need to dock with that ship." Anakin said with a smile, still pointing at the Dreadnaught-class cruiser. Solo raised his eyebrows again.

"What, the cruiser? That's your destination..?" He asked, to which the human Jedi chuckled, and nodded, getting up from his seat.

"Sure is.. I'll go inform Ahsoka and Ventress. You hail them, and get us a docking permission... we need to board the ship as soon as possible." Anakin ordered, as he turned to head out of the cockpit. Solo got up slightly as well, stopping the Jedi.

"Wait, what? What am I supposed to say to them?" He asked, after which Anakin turned around, and smirked.

"Tell them that Anakin Skywalker wants an audience with Djinn Altis... they'll let the Envoy dock with the Peacemaker.. I assure you." The young human man responded with a wink of his eye, after which he left the cockpit, leaving the befuddled pilot alone. Solo sat back down on his pilot's seat, letting out an exhale, and starting to press many buttons.

"This job is getting weirder by the minute..." He said to himself, steering the Envoy towards the Dreadnaught-class cruiser, and pressing many buttons to prepare to hail the ship.

The human pilot hoped that the young Jedi's plan would work; he surely did not want to embarrass himself in front of some dignitaries, or otherwise important people. Who else would the Jedi want to meet? They were amongst the most revered and respected people in the Galaxy.

Letting out another sigh, Jonash shook his head, and sent out a hailing signal to the Peacemaker, and stayed quiet afterwards, wishing for the best. The last thing he needed was to have the ship decline his communications request. He wanted to be rid of the Jedi as soon as possible, and return to his smuggling ways with his son, and hopefully doing that while being eighteen thousand credits richer.

 **...**

Alarms rang through Ta'a Chume's Battle Dragon's intercom system, as Kriza ran along the endless hallways of the ship, attempting to locate an escape pod. The young woman panted heavily, her legs sprinting at full strength. She tightly squeezed the blaster pistol in her hands, being the only weapon she possessed right now.

Kriza ran around a corner, coming to a hallway that had many escaped pods in it. She sighed in relief, attempting to approach one of the pods. As soon as she got to one pod, however, she could hear heavy footsteps behind her. The young woman bit her lip, her heartbeat increasing.

As she turned around slowly, Kriza could see the hulking cyborg bodyguard of Ta'a Chume, Draco S'Krill, approaching her, an all too satisfied smirk on his face. She knew that the cyborg wanted nothing more than to just crush her under his foot, and Kriza figured that this would be his opportunity to do just that.

"Nowhere left to run, girl... you meet your end here. Hear those alarms? They're the sign that your death is near.." The man said, smirking widely, and approaching Kriza, who backed away to a wall behind her, which was a dead end. The young woman breathed heavier, raising her pistol, and aiming it at Draco.

"Don't come any closer!" She ordered, but the cyborg simply laughed, and continued to walk towards her.

"Oh, don't make me laugh, girl... you couldn't even scrape me with that thing.." He answered, getting closer to the young Jedi Padawan.

Kriza clenched her teeth together, and opened fire upon the cyborg, hitting his body and armor several times. Draco didn't even flinch, as the shots hit him, and instead just laughed.

"Pathetic..." The man said, shaking his head. The cyborg then violently grabbed the pistol out of Kriza's hand, crushing it with his strong mechanical hands.

The young woman gasped, and backed against the wall. Draco smirked, and suddenly grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground, and strangling her. Kriza tried to get the cyborg man's hand off her throat, but wasn't successful. She quickly began to lose her air, as the man relentlessly continued to strangle her.

"Go on... try to scream.. no one will hear..." Draco taunted, knowing that the girl would die rather soon.

Kriza put all her effort into moving her body, as she was quickly losing consciousness. She suddenly used all her energy on her legs, strongly kicking the cyborg man in his stomach. Draco grunted, and staggered back, letting go of his victim. As the young woman fell on her knees on the floor, she coughed and breathed heavily.

The cyborg man got to his feet again, growling quietly, as he approached Kriza again. The young girl looked up, still trying to get her breathing back to normal. She noticed her lightsaber hilt hanging on Draco's belt, and her eyes widened. Kriza quickly got to her feet, and called the lightsaber hilt to her using the Force. She immediately activated her weapon, brandishing its cyan colored blade. The cyborg didn't seem to mind.

"Go ahead, use your Jedi weapon... it won't do you any good.." Draco stated confidently, before lunging at the young Jedi Padawan.

Kriza jumped up in the air, rolling over the cyborg man, and landing behind him. As Draco turned around, the Jedi Padawan swiftly slashed at his legs, hitting his cybernetic knee. The man groaned in pain, and staggered slightly, but Kriza didn't stop there. With lightning speed, she slashed at the cyborg man's chest twice, slicing two deep cuts on his armor. Draco groaned louder, dropping on one knee.

He then tried to punch Kriza, but missed easily, as the young Padawan quickly dodged, and moved in behind him again. Draco tried to turn, and get back on his feet, but Kriza pushed him on the ground with the Force.

Now having the upper hand, Kriza sighed deeply, her mind calming finally. Holding her weapon tightly, she waited for Draco to slowly try to get up. The crawling man turned back towards her, as he attempted to get up, breathing heavily. Kriza bit her lip, and lifted her lightsaber slightly, readying herself.

"Go on... kill me, girl.. you know I'll never let you live after this..." The man said quietly, huffing slightly. Kriza began to breathe heavier again, not knowing what to do. She wanted to kill the monstrous cyborg, but her Jedi training kept her from doing it.

Before she could decide, Draco frowned, and attempted to lunge at her again. As he tried to reach her with his hand, Kriza quickly brought her lightsaber blade down, cutting off the cyborg's right hand. Groaning loudly, Draco grabbed his stump of an arm, which was being cauterized by the burning plasma energy from the lightsaber. Kriza quickly swung her lightsaber around, before suddenly aiming it at her enemy. She then drove the blade through Draco's neck, causing the man's eyes to widen, and his body shudder slightly.

Realizing what she had done, Kriza immediately pulled the blade out of the man's neck. Draco silently fell on the ground, dying almost instantly. The young woman's breath fastened immensely, and she deactivated her lightsaber. She had just killed a man, an unarmed, beaten man.

Kriza began to feel sick, breathing extremely heavy now. She rubbed her forehead, sweat beginning to roll down it. She had never executed someone like that, not even a droid, and it made the young Padawan feel so sick, and uncomfortable. Feeling like she was about to barf, she bowed slightly, trying to ease her breathing. Kriza felt like she had slaughtered an entire planet full of innocent people; she had never killed anyone so suddenly, without a cause. Draco was her enemy, and tried to kill her, but she had already beaten him, and she still executed him, and that was exactly what was bothering her the most.

After a moment, she finally regained her focus, and breathed calmer. The alarms around her were still quite distracting, but Kriza was able to block her mind off of them. Standing up, she looked towards the other end of the hallway again, and could now see the Hapan Queen Mother standing several meters away from her, a lightsaber in her hand. Ta'a Chume had a stale look on her face, as she began to approach Kriza. The young Jedi could see how the hapan woman's leg was stained with blood, caused by her stabbing earlier.

"Good job.. you killed my closest bodyguard. I hope you're proud, Kriza." The Queen Mother said calmly, stopping over her former bodyguard's dead body. Kriza backed away against the wall again, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I am not proud.. but... I had no choice.." She answered, trying to reason her actions. Ta'a Chume simply chuckled, and came closer to the girl again.

"Keep telling that to yourself, if it makes you feel better. Now... I can't let you escape, but I won't kill you.." The Queen Mother said, bringing her lightsaber blade near her face, performing the Makashi opening salute.

"But I will hurt you..." She then assured, a stern, yet vicious and vile look on her face. Kriza sighed deeply, and activated her lightsaber, preparing to duel the Queen Mother.

Backed to the wall, Kriza had nowhere to run. Ta'a Chume smirked, and made her move, charging at the young Padawan. The Queen Mother immediately went for an impaling strike, attempting to drive her lightsaber through Kriza's chest. The young girl gasped, and quickly jumped over the Queen, a move that was predicted by her.

Immediately after landing behind her, Kriza had to defend herself from Ta'a Chume's attack, as the Queen quickly turned around, slashing her lightsaber at the Padawan. Kriza deflected the attack, and proceeded to back away slowly, as the hapan woman pressed on the vicious attacks, slashing her blade at the young girl remorselessly.

As the two of them walked over the hulking dead body of Draco S'Krill, Ta'a Chume made another powerful attack against Kriza, attempting to get her to stagger enough, so that she could cut the girl's unprotected lightsaber hilt in half, if not even cutting off her entire hand. She failed however, as Kriza athletically did a back flip, jumping back from the attacking hapan woman. Annoyed, the Queen Mother attempted to strike her again, but Kriza managed to block the attack with her lightsaber, initiating a blade lock with the Queen.

"You could avoid all of this, if you only joined me, Kriza!" The hapan woman said, breathing slightly heavy as she tried to push her blade more powerfully against Kriza's, who clenched her teeth together.

"I will never betray and abandon the Jedi! They're my family, and my life!" She shouted back, her faith in the Jedi still remaining strong, despite the Queen's best efforts at manipulating her.

"You're wasting everything you are if you stay with them! With me you could have real purpose, a real cause to fight for!" Ta'a Chume continued, still tried to get the young woman on her side, but Kriza shook her head.

"Fighting is not the Jedi way! Violence is not the answer... no matter if we have to resort to violence sometimes. I know what I want to commit my life to.. and it's certainly not you, or your war of aggression!" She responded defiantly, which caused the Queen Mother to frown deeply, as she held her lightsaber tighter.

"Aggression?! How can you look at what the Republic is doing, and not call that aggression? Your Jedi are feeding Chancellor Palpatine's power hungry appetite.. and have been doing that for years!" The hapan woman replied loudly, the anger showing on her face. Kriza bit her lip, knowing that the Supreme Chancellor was suspicious, but that she'd need to stay loyal to the Jedi, and the Republic.

"Even so, the Jedi will always protect the Republic.. and we'll never give up on that, not even if the Chancellor does questionable things!" She responded, to which the Queen Mother sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh, how naive you are, Kriza... open your eyes! Use your powers on the Supreme Chancellor, and you'll see the truth! He will lead the Jedi to ruin!" Ta'a Chume assured, after which her Jedi opponent scoffed, drops of sweat rolling down her forehead.

"And what are you doing right now? You're killing Jedi, attacking the Republic! You'd bring us to ruin as well!" Kriza shouted in response, remembering how the Queen Mother had killed her master on Tanaab. Ta'a Chume frowned, getting angrier.

"I'd leave the Jedi alone, if you'd stop defending the Republic! I will bring them down, and I will bring security and order to the Galaxy, under my just rule!" The hapan woman yelled, clenching her teeth together. Kriza felt the anger and hatred pulsating out of the Queen Mother, she could feel how the hapan Force user was drifting towards the Dark Side.

"You'll have to through me, and every other Jedi first..." The young Jedi responded in defiance however, which only angered the Queen more.

"And so I shall.." She answered, before ending the blade lock, and initiating a brutal and vicious attack against Kriza.

Pushing her back, Ta'a Chume kept striking at Kriza with her lightsaber, making the young woman put all her effort into just staying alive, and doing her best to try and deflect every attack the Queen Mother was making.

Kriza felt how much anger and rage Ta'a Chume put in her attacks, completely immersing herself in the Dark Side. Letting out a desperate moan, the young woman staggered back, losing her footing. She had lost all her energy in deflecting the last attacks the Queen had landed on her, and she feared that her end was really near.

With a vicious slash, the Queen Mother struck Kriza's lightsaber off her hands, disarming her. Gasping, the young Padawan took a few steps back, being completely at the mercy of the enraged former Jedi Knight. With a smirk, Ta'a Chume swung her lightsaber, but did not strike Kriza down. Instead, she suddenly reached out with her hand, and began choking the young girl through the Force.

"I told you I won't kill you, dear... but bringing you close to death.. that I can do..." She said quietly, strangling the Jedi Padawan stronger.

Kriza fell on her knees, grasping at her throat, and trying to gasp for air. The Queen Mother kept choking her, bringing her closer and closer to unconsciousness, and death. A smile on her face, the hapan woman looked upon her tortured victim. She kept on choking Kriza, allowing her vision to get blurry, as death crept up on her. After a moment, the young girl stopped resisting, having lost all air.

Ta'a Chume let go of her, after which the limp body of the young woman fell on the cold floor. With a slight sigh, the Queen Mother deactivated her lightsaber, and put it away, as she looked at the unconscious body of her Jedi captive.

"Look at the mess you've made, silly child. Now you have to be locked up again... such waste.." She said to herself, looking between Kriza's and Draco's bodies.

Sighing, and shaking her head, the Queen Mother then turned around, and made her way out of the small hallway. Several guardsmen from her Royal Guard arrived, ready to do her bidding. Ta'a Chume calmly signaled the men to take both Kriza and Draco away, while she nonchalantly walked back towards the nearby dinner hall, intending on continuing her interrupted meal. She had given Kriza a lesson, a lesson the young woman would not soon forget.

 **...**

The door to the airlock inside the Stellar Envoy opened, creating a pathway to the Dreadnaught-class cruiser Peacemaker, as the Corellian freighter had docked in with the ship moments earlier. After explaining whom he had aboard his vessel, Captain Solo had been granted access to the Peacemaker's airlock.

Anakin took a deep breath, standing in the airlock. Ahsoka stood next to him, with Ventress and R2 behind the two of them. Jonash and Han were standing nearby as well, the human pilot having his arms crossed. As the doors to the Peacemaker opened, Anakin squeezed his hands slightly, being nervous. Ahsoka gently touched his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"It'll be fine, Ani.. I'm just surprised that you brought us here." She said quietly, to which her human lover let out a quiet scoff.

"I never thought of coming her either... but I think that this is the only place where we can be together, and not worry about the rest of the Order.." Anakin replied, not exactly wanting to be part of the Altisian Jedi, but he saw no other option.

Some time ago, during the early years of the Clone Wars, Anakin and Ahsoka had worked with the Altisian Jedi to rescue a Republic agent in the _JanFathal_ system. The unorthodox traditions of the rogue Jedi community had taken both of the two young Jedi by surprise, and Ahsoka herself had felt uneasy around them at first. Getting to know some of them, and understanding their feelings and values, the young togruta had grown a sense of respect for them.

She also remembered that the leader of the community, Djinn Altis, had offered to take Anakin to live with them, and join the Altisian Jedi. Her master had refused however, preferring to continue to fight in the War with his fellow Jedi of the proper Order. Ahsoka knew well about the Jedi community's views on love and affection. As her love had just said, Anakin had brought them here to join the Altisian Jedi, and have a chance of living together in peace.

As the group entered the cruiser, they were immediately greeted by armed security guards, who were waiting them beyond the ship's airlock. The human man leading the guards saluted them, most than likely knowing who they were.

"Master Skywalker, welcome to the Peacemaker. I am Captain _Ren Zallow_... I lead the security forces aboard this vessel." The bearded man with a scar on his face said, proceeding to shake Anakin's hand, who had his eyebrow raised. The young Jedi Knight wondered if the guard was somehow distantly related to the legendary Jedi Master _Ven Zallow_ , who had died during the _Sacking of Coruscant_ , nearly four thousand years ago.

"Nice to meet you. I need to see Master Altis.. can you point me to him?" He responded, to which the guard smiled, and nodded.

"Absolutely.. Master Altis is eagerly waiting for you. I'll take you to his office right away.." Zallow replied in a cheery way, which was slightly weird for Anakin. As the guard nodded his head to the other direction, signaling the Jedi Knight to come with him, Anakin quickly opened his mouth.

"Where will my companions go for the time being? They travel with me.." He stated, after which Zallow glanced at the small group behind the Jedi Knight.

"Oh.. right. My men will show them to the common room.. they can wait for you there." The man explained, after which he quickly tapped one of the guards accompanying him on the shoulder, causing the man to stand in attention, and salute Ahsoka and the others.

With a quiet sigh, Anakin began to follow the human security guard, as they walked in to the distance along the hallways. Ahsoka glanced at her lover with slight worry, knowing how stressed the man had been lately. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ventress, who walked next to her, and let out a quiet hum.

"The Altisian Jedi, huh? Guess you can't get away from the Order, no matter how hard you try.." The dathomirian woman said, to which Ahsoka bit her lip.

"They're not like the rest of the Order.. I've worked with them before." She replied, which only made her former rival laugh.

"They're still Jedi, love... you can't erase that fact, no matter how many times you try to wash it off. And I was under the impression that you never wanted to return to the Jedi.." Ventress responded, which widened Ahsoka's eyes. For months she really had not wanted to be part of the Jedi in any way. But Anakin's return had changed that, at least in some way.

"You're right... I don't want to return to them. But these are not the Jedi of the proper Order, and the only thing I care about now, is to be with Anakin... nothing else matters but our love.." She explained quietly, wanting nothing more than to be with the man she loved, until the end of times. Ventress chuckled, patting the togruta's back.

"So disgustingly corny... you really are head over your heels in love with him.." The woman replied, laughing more, as Ahsoka rolled her eyes, and smiled slightly.

As the two of them walked behind the two security guards, Ventress glanced behind them, and could see the two Solos following them, right behind R2, who rolled on his small wheels. The dathomirian smirked, as she looked at Jonash.

"You're going to stick with us, Solo?" She asked, winking her eye at the man, who frowned slightly in annoyance.

"Yeah... I'll follow you until I get paid." The pilot from Corellia answered in a rather stale voice, clearly starting to get suspicious about his hefty salary. Ventress chuckled, and nodded.

"Well, just keep on following us then.. you'll get your money eventually." She assured with a laugh, which only increased the human pilot's suspicion. Ahsoka sighed quietly, as Ventress walked closer to her again.

"We really don't have the kind of money we owe him.." The young woman whispered to her former rival, who chuckled ever so slightly, and nudged the girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it... even if Anakin can't procure the credits for Solo, it'll be fine.. I'll handle him..." Ventress reassured her, which made Ahsoka raise her eyebrow.

"Handle him? Not through your usual means... right..?" She asked, slightly worried. The dathomirian woman laughed, and shook her head.

"You know I'm a changed woman, Ahsoka... so yeah, I'll handle him with something else than violence... I promise you.." Ventress replied, nudging Ahsoka's arm again, who rolled her eyes, and smiled slightly.

The group then continued to follow the two security guards, who led them towards the nearby common room, while Anakin would have an audience with Djinn Altis. Even though Ahsoka didn't know how she'd be able to get used to living with the Altisian Jedi, she was ready to do anything to make sure that she could stay with her love. Nothing would come between them anymore, and she was ready to do everything she could to keep it that way.

 **...**

The two doors to the private office of Master Djinn Altis slid open, allowing Anakin and security guard Zallow to enter. The human Jedi Knight's heart beat faster and faster, as he approached the elder Jedi Master, whose back was faced at him. Master Altis silently looked out the large windows of his officer, his hands behind his back.

"Master Altis... he's here." Zallow announced, allowing Anakin to walk past him. The Jedi Master slowly turned around, a warm smile forming on his face, as he saw the young man in front of him.

"Anakin... welcome back." He said in a calm and friendly tone, spreading his arms slightly. Anakin bit his lip, and bowed to the Jedi Master slightly.

"Thank you for meeting with me, Master Altis.." He replied in a humble voice, to which Altis chuckled ever so slightly, and made a small wave with his hand.

"Of course, my boy.. you are always welcome aboard the Peacemaker. I've heard that the Republic is looking for you... shall we contact the Jedi Council?" The elder man asked, to which Anakin's eyes immediately widened, and he took a step forward.

"No! I... that's the reason I came to you, master.." He answered, causing the Jedi Master to raise his eyebrows in surprise, but let out an understanding hum, as he then glanced at Zallow.

"Leave us." Master Altis ordered, to which the security guard nodded, and saluted the two Jedi, before quickly leaving the office, and closing the doors after him. The elder human man then looked back at Anakin, smiling.

"Now... tell me everything, Anakin." He said with a smile, after which the young Jedi Knight sighed long, and nodded.

"Well... I.. I've decided that I want to leave the Order.. and join your community. Do you remember Ahsoka..?" Anakin asked, stuttering slightly, as he felt embarrassed and nervous. Master Altis had his eyebrows raised, before smiling again.

"Yes, I remember her. I heard that she left the Order a while back... although I sense that she's aboard my ship right now. You met her again, I take it?" The Jedi Master asked calmly, still smiling warmly. Anakin sighed again, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah.. I met her on Tatooine, and we've stuck together since. I... we're romantically involved, Ahsoka and I... and we want to stay together.. and not worry about the Jedi harassing us..." He explained to the Jedi Master, who looked really surprised. Master Altis however returned to his warm expression, smiling again.

"I see." The man responded calmly, a warm and understanding smile on his face. Anakin bit his lip, scratching his head again.

"So... yeah.. I came here to ask if the two of us could join your community.. and stay here until the war ends." He said, to which Master Altis smiled wider, and nodded, humming quietly.

"Of course! You're absolutely welcome to stay with us, Anakin... no question about it. However, we do need to contact the Jedi Council, and let them know that you're alive and well. Not to worry.. I won't let them take you back to Coruscant." The Jedi Master said with a short chuckle, reassuringly patting Anakin's shoulder, who sighed in relief.

"Thank you, master... I just feel a bit lost here. Master Vos told me that I'm still needed in the Order, because I'm the Chosen One... and that just makes me feel a bit uncertain.." He answered to the elder man, who then stroked his chin.

"I know how the Order feel about the prophecy.. but I believe that if it actually is true, it will be fulfilled no matter what you are. Whether you are a Jedi or not shouldn't change the prophecy in any way..." Master Altis explained, placing his hand on the young Jedi Knight's shoulder then.

"In the end, you will destroy the Sith, and bring balance to the Force. I will explain to the Order, that you will not be returning to them... don't worry about it, Anakin. They will not force you to stay... that's not our way." The aged man continued, smiling warmly at Anakin, who sighed, and nodded.

"I suppose you're right, master... thank you for doing this.. Ahsoka and I need a place to stay, until the war has ended.." He explained, to which the Jedi Master smiled at, and nodded in understanding.

"Of course... you two will always have a place here. But what will you do, when the war ends?" Master Altis asked, placing his hands behind his back. Anakin bit his lip, having not thought of that.

"I don't know... I know that I want to be with Ahsoka.. but other than that, I'm not sure. I guess we could go and live on some nice, remote world.. and become farmers or something... I really don't know yet.." He answered, rubbing the back of his neck. Master Altis hummed quietly, and smiled again.

"Well... we can help you find the answers to those kinds of questions as well. We are all a big family, and will help each other out however we can." The man assured, to which the young Jedi Knight smiled, and slightly bowed to him.

"Thank you, Master Altis..." Anakin said in a humbled manner, after which the Jedi Master simply smiled, and touched his shoulder.

Before Master Altis could reply, the holocommunicator on his desk started beeping. Frowning slightly, the elder human turned around, and quickly stepped over to his desk, activating the communicator.

"This is Altis speaking... what is it?" He asked, which was followed by a few seconds of silence. After that, a male voice came through the device.

"Master Altis! Several Confederate ships just jumped into the system... they're now heading right for us!" The distressed voice stated, which caused Anakin's heart to jump to his throat. Altis frowned, and stroked his bearded chin.

"Quickly detach us from the fueling station, and then set course towards the edges of the system.. we need to jump to hyperspace as soon as we can, or those Separatist ships will chew us to pieces.." The Jedi Master ordered, his voice collected and calm, despite the dire situation.

"Uh... yes, sir! We'll engage the hyperdrive as soon as possible!" The voice answered, before ending the transmission with Master Altis. After that, the elder human man walked over to Anakin again, who sighed deeply.

"They're here for me... I just know it.." He said quietly, wondering if General Grievous had found him, and was now looking for retaliation. Master Altis calmly lifted his hand up.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, Anakin. However, should they catch us... I sense that they'll board this ship. So I trust that you are prepared to fight?" The man asked, walking over to a nearby locker. Anakin sighed again, and squeezed his lightsaber hilt on his waist.

"Yeah... I won't let them have me, or any of you, master.." He said, knowing that he'd never allow the Separatist to harm anyone aboard the Peacemaker. Master Altis opened the locker nearby, and took out an elegantly designed lightsaber hilt out of it.

"Good... I fear that this battle will be a challenge, for all of us. But trust in the Force, young one.. and we'll be alright. Now.. go to Ahsoka, Anakin... protect yourself and her; we all must fight the hardest for the people we love.." The Jedi Master stated, to which Anakin nodded in agreement, as he took a step back towards the doors.

"I will. Thank you for everything, master... we'll speak soon again.." He said, as he made his way to the doors. Master Altis smiled, and walked back to his desk.

"Yes, we shall, Anakin. Good luck, and may the Force be with you..." The elder man replied, as Anakin quickly glanced at him, and gave him a quick nod with a smile.

"You too, master.." The young Jedi Knight answered, after which he opened the doors, and quickly ran out to the hallway. Master Altis silently then sat down at his desk, beginning to meditate, and prepare for the possible upcoming battle.

Outside, Anakin ran as fast as he could towards the common room, which lied several hundreds of meters ahead. He'd need to get there as quick as he could, but the size of the Peacemaker would make it slightly difficult. All that was going on in his mind, was his concern for the safety of Ahsoka, R2, his ally Ventress, the Solos, as well as all the other beings aboard the Dreadnaught-class ship. He wouldn't let them down, not now, not ever.

 **...**

Ahsoka and Ventress silently looked around themselves, feeling slightly awkward to be inside the common room of the Peacemaker. Plenty of the ship's residents, both Jedi and non-Jedi were there, minding their own business, and going about their daily chores. The dathomirian woman especially looked uncomfortable, Ahsoka almost being able to see a small twitch in her eye.

"I'll never ever want to visit the Jedi Temple again, if I get this uncomfortable by just being around a handful Jedi.." Ventress said, biting her lip, and scratching her head slightly. Ahsoka felt the same way, to some extent.

"I'm more nervous than uncomfortable... I feel like I have something to explain.. that I should regret leaving all of this behind. I guess that's the main reason why I don't want to return to the Temple either..." She answered to her former rival, who hummed quietly, looking at the nearby Jedi, who minded their own business.

"One thing the Jedi need to learn, is to allow their own people to have their own choices, and not shun them for it. They shunned you for your decision, and they shun these rogue Jedi for theirs..." Ventress observes, crossing her arms. Ahsoka bit her lip, agreeing with the woman on some level, though not fully.

"The Jedi are all about the freedom of the innocent.. the freedom of choice for everyone. They always want what's best for all of the Jedi.. but once you choose to leave... you're rarely welcomed back. They would have welcomed me, after pretty much betraying me.. but I doubt that the Order would take me back now." She noted, to which Ventress shrugged her shoulders.

"Hard to say... but it's not like you'd want to return to them anyway. You and Skywalker can now live your lives free from the Jedi.. do whatever you want. You won, Ahsoka..." The dathomirian said, slightly smiling as she quickly tapped Ahsoka's shoulder, who raised her eyebrow.

"I don't exactly feel like I've won anything, Ventress.. except a future with Anakin." She answered. Ventress hummed quietly, and patted the togruta's shoulder again.

"That's what I meant, Ahsoka. You can finally settle down for real.." She explained, which made Ahsoka chuckle slightly, as she turned to glance at her former enemy.

"You've really turned soft, haven't you, Ventress?" The togruta girl asked, laughing quietly. Ventress frowned slightly, rolling her eyes.

"Don't assume too much, Ahsoka.. I can still be just as bad and mean as I was years ago.." She answered in a more serious voice, after which her former rival chuckled, and nodded in acknowledgment. Ahsoka was sure that Ventress could still be a real menace, if she was provoked enough.

As the young togruta looked around, she could see Jonash sit down on a nearby couch with his son, Han. Ahsoka felt bad for the two of them, as she knew that Anakin could not pay them for their service, at least yet. And since they had not even contacted Senator Amidala, she doubted that they were ever going to pay back the Solos, which meant that Ventress would have to persuade them to let it go.

Ahsoka could then hear approaching footsteps behind her. A quiet female voice chuckled then, which caused the young woman's eyes widen. She recognized that voice. Turning around, Ahsoka could then see a human female, donned in brownish Jedi robe type clothing, though it was not actual Jedi apparel. She was around her mid twenties, and had dark brown hair, and grayish colored eyes.

"Well, there's a face I never thought to see again. What brings you here, Ahsoka?" The woman asked with a slight smirk, placing her hand on her waist. The young togruta bit her lip, raising her eyebrow.

"I just arrived here with Anakin, Callista... nice to see that you're doing well." Ahsoka replied to the woman, who let out a quiet scoff.

The woman was _Callista Masana_ , one of the strongest and most skilled members of the Altisian Jedi. Unlike most of the Jedi in the community, Callista had never been part of the main Jedi Order, having been recruited by Djinn Altis after his departure, and founding of the rogue Jedi community. Master Altis had however trained her with as much success as any other Jedi, guiding her to become a Jedi Knight after years of studying.

Callista was the image of an Altisian Jedi, not having much regard towards the Jedi Code, and the Order's rules. She still held her own principles of morality and goodwill in high regard, wanting to be as much like a proper Jedi as she could. Callista was also one of the examples of Jedi marrying, as she was married to a fellow Altisian Jedi, _Geith Eris_ , whom she herself had initiated to the Order.

"I heard that you left the Jedi Order. Since you're with Anakin, I assume that you want to join our community? Can't say that I'm not at least a bit surprised..." The human female said, a small, slightly smug smirk on her face. Ahsoka frowned, starting to feel annoyed.

She had not seen eye to eye with Callista years back, when she had worked with her during the mission to rescue the Republic agent. Ahsoka felt like the human female was smug, and thought of herself being above regular Jedi. The young togruta knew that last time she had been a bit shocked to see such unorthodox Jedi, who threw the Jedi Code out of their lives. However, now that she was happily in a romantic relationship, and had loved Anakin for years, Ahsoka understood why she seemed ironic right now, as she had been against Callista's worldview, at least in the beginning.

"Well... things change, Callista. I wouldn't have expected Anakin to bring me here either.. but here we are..." She replied to Callista, who chuckled slightly, and nodded.

"True that. Well... make yourself at home.. we have all the time in the Galaxy to get reacquainted.." The woman said, her voice sounding just a hint of sarcasm. Ahsoka frowned slightly, knowing that she and Callista would not get along so well.

"Yeah... can't wait. I suppose that you're still together with Geith?" She then asked, to which the human female smiled, and nodded, glancing over to the common room's living area, where her husband was located in.

Geith Eris was a human man, a few years younger than Callista. He had light brown hair, green eyes, and was built in an average way. As he had never been part of the Jedi Order, his training had not been as physically demanding, as a proper Jedi's. However, he too was strong in the Force, and not someone who would be defeated easily.

"Yep.. still happily married. You know, now that you're not a Jedi anymore, you can marry as well, Ahsoka. Don't worry about the Jedi Code, and all that boring stuff... you're free now." Callista then said, winking her eye at Ahsoka, who bit her lip.

"Well.. I'll definitely keep that in mind, Callista. But I'll proceed slowly with Anakin.. we're in no rush to get married or anything like that." She answered, to which the human female hummed quietly, crossing her arms.

"True.. but the war isn't over yet... anything could happen to either of you. I wouldn't waste any time, if I was you... we only have so much life and time to give to the people we love the most.." Callista explained, making a good point in Ahsoka's opinion, even though she still didn't want to rush things with Anakin, no matter what happened. After a moment, the human Jedi looked around, and clasped her hands together.

"I need to go... see you around, Ahsoka." She said, before walking away from the togruta and Ventress. Ahsoka rolled her eyes slightly.

"Looking forward to it..." She answered quietly, being a bit sarcastic. Ahsoka didn't hate Callista, or have much against her, but she still just didn't see eye to eye with the woman. As Callista walked away, Ventress scoffed quietly, crossing her arms as she looked after the human female.

"I don't envy you staying here... I couldn't stand being around that woman for ten minutes longer.." The dathomirian stated, shaking her head. Ahsoka chuckled, agreeing with her.

Not many seconds later, the Peacemaker's alarms suddenly began to broadcast through the ship's intercom system. Ahsoka and Ventress raised their eyebrows, the Solos getting a little antsy as well, looking around as the ship's residents began to run around the area.

"All hands to battle stations, all hands to battle stations! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is _not_ a drill!" A distressed male voice announced through the loudspeakers, which only made the crew of the ship move faster.

A second later, the ship suddenly shook violently, and the muffled sounds of explosions could be heard. Ahsoka nearly lost her footing, staggering as the ship shook. Jonash took a hold of his young son, standing up from the nearby seat.

"What's going on?" The human pilot asked, holding his son's hand, and making sure that he wouldn't lose his balance. Ventress scratched the back of her head, sighing.

"Well, sounds like the ship is being attacked. My guess is that the Hutts have gotten our scent, and are now looking to avenge Jabba's death..." She said, stroking her chin. The Corellian pilot's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped wide open.

"Jabba is dead?!" He asked, his voice breaking. Jonash held his son even closer, a desperate look on his face, though Ventress didn't even acknowledge him. Ahsoka looked around quickly, seeing that they were the only ones left in the common room.

"Whoever it is, we can't stay here! We need to go find Anakin, now!" The togruta girl said loudly, her heart racing. The dathomirian woman nodded in agreement next to her.

"Right, but we don't know where he is exactly, or do we?" Ventress noted, which caused Ahsoka to fiddle with her hands, clenching her teeth together.

The young woman then closed her eyes, and let the Force surround her. She searched through the surrounding Force energy for Anakin's aura, so that she could locate her. A few seconds later, she could feel Anakin's energy and presence, approaching them in a nearby hallway. Sighing in relief, Ahsoka opened her eyes, a smile appearing on her face.

"Come on! I sensed him this way!" She said quickly, pointing at the hallway to the group's left. Without hesitation, the young woman then began to sprint towards the hallway, Ventress raising her eyebrow.

Letting out a sigh, and shaking her head quickly, the dathomirian then glanced at R2, and the two Solos, motioning them to follow her, as she quickly got herself on Ahsoka's trail, running several meters behind her. In the following short moments, the group swiftly left the common room, as the Peacemaker's alarms continued to play through the loudspeakers, with the muffled sounds of explosions continuing as well.

 **...**

A few minutes later, Ahsoka, Ventress and the Solos arrived to a junction, which opened up four hallways, going to different directions. One of the hallways led to the airlocks, where the Stellar Envoy was docked at. Another hallway led to a nearby engineering bay. At the other end of the room, a door opened, a human man running to the junction as well.

Ahsoka's heart nearly jumped to her throat, as she noticed that the man was Anakin. As the Jedi Knight noticed her as well, the togruta girl immediately sprinted at him, a smile on her face. Ahsoka jumped into her lover's arms, embracing him tightly.

"Oh, how I missed you already, Ani.." She whispered to Anakin's ear, who embraced her even tighter, his hand rubbing her back.

"I was gone ten minutes.. you're quite clinging, aren't you?" He joked quietly, to which his togruta girlfriend sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shut up.." Ahsoka replied, giving the man a gentle kiss on his cheek. As the two of the slowly parted from each other, Ventress cleared her throat.

"If you two are done smooching, we should probably get out of here before the ship is attacked.." The woman suggested, placing her hand on her waist. Anakin let go of Ahsoka, and quickly nodded.

"Indeed, but the ship has already been boarded... the Separatists are fighting the crew right now, and we have to help them." He explained, which made Ahsoka raise her eyebrow.

"The Separatists? What are they doing here?" She asked in a surprised voice. Anakin shrugged his shoulders.

"I've no idea, but we have to help the Altisian Jedi in beating them back..." He answered. Jonash Solo then took a step forward, getting the Jedi's attention.

"Separatists? Are you kidding me? Look, Skywalker.. Han and I are not cut out for something like this... we won't stand a chance against battle droids!" The human pilot said, his voice trembling slightly. He definitely did not want to join the battle against the Separatists. Anakin nodded, seemingly agreeing.

"I know, which is why you and Han need to get out of here... Ahsoka, you'll go with them, and see that they leave aboard the Envoy safely." The Jedi Knight ordered, placing a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder, who quickly glanced at him.

"What?! Anakin, I want to be by your side! We're in this together.." She protested, but Anakin bit his lip, and pulled her closer, looking into her eyes.

"I know, and you will join with me and Ventress after you've escorted Jonash and Han out of here. We won't be separated for long..." He assured, his voice soft and comforting. Ahsoka stared into his blue eyes, sighing quietly.

"Okay... I'll go take them to the ship." The young woman replied, nodding her head. Her former master smiled, and patted her shoulder gently, as he turned his attention to the small astromech droid, who stood around next to them.

"You go with them too, R2." Anakin said to the droid, who replied with a cheery, acknowledging chirp. As he turned towards Ventress, who was waiting around, Ahsoka suddenly grabbed him by his collar.

The togruta girl pulled him strongly against her, pressing her lips against his. Ahsoka kissed him with all her might, quickly moving her hand through his hair. Anakin returned the kiss, tightly holding his lover against his body. Ventress rolled her eyes, as she witnessed that, while Jonash covered his son's eyes, clearing his throat. The two lovers ended their passionate kiss after a few seconds, Ahsoka smiling as she looked into Anakin's eyes.

"You'll get more of that after this is done.." She whispered to him, to which the man chuckled at quietly.

"I can't wait." Anakin replied, whispering as well.

The two of them then separated, after which Ahsoka quickly turned towards the Solos. She walked past them, patting Jonash's shoulder with a smile.

"Come on.. let's go." She said to the pilot, who responded with an acknowledging nod.

The man then quickly glanced at Anakin and Ventress, giving them a small finger salute, before turning around, and starting to follow Ahsoka. As the group left toward the nearby door, Anakin turned to Ventress, smirking slightly.

"Ready for action, Ventress?" He asked, to which the dathomirian replied with a laugh, and a nod.

"You even have to ask? Let's get them!" Ventress answered, chuckling as she grabbed her lightsabers.

As the two of them prepared to leave, and walk to the other direction, Ahsoka turned back at the end of the hallway she and the Solos were standing in. Her back was faced towards the door, which lied less than a meter away from her.

"Anakin!" She called out, which got the human man's attention, who turned back towards her. There were several meters of distance between them, but Anakin could still see the smile on his love's face.

"I love you!" Ahsoka then proclaimed, her voice filled with joy. Anakin smiled widely, his heart feeling so much warmth right now. He loved the girl so much, and he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

"I know.." He answered back, winking his eye at the beautiful togruta, who grinned, and blushed ever so slightly.

It was then that the door behind Ahsoka's back suddenly opened. Anakin's smile faded, and he frowned slightly, squinting his eyes as he looked at the hallway behind the door. A dark cloaked figure was standing right behind Ahsoka. His eyes widening, Anakin immediately lunged forward, sprinting towards his togruta lover.

"Ahsoka, look out!" He shouted, running towards the young togruta, whose smile faded as well.

Before Ahsoka could react further, the sound of a lightsaber activating could be heard. In an instant, a red plasma blade of a lightsaber was driven through Ahsoka's back, impaling her through her upper stomach. She gasped loudly, as the blade stuck out of her insides. Anakin's heart felt like it was stopping, as he witnessed that.

"NO!" He screamed loudly, grabbing his lightsaber hilt from his belt, and activating the weapon.

The cloaked assailant withdrew their blade from Ahsoka's back, allowing the shocked togruta to fall on her knees. A few tears rolled down her cheeks, as she stared at her lover, who was charging towards her.

"Ani..." She whispered under her breath, before her eyes rolled back, and she fell on the floor, a smoking hole on her upper stomach, and back.

Jonash quickly placed himself in front of his son, grabbing his _DL-44_ blaster pistol from his waist. The pilot was in sheer shock, his hand shaking, as he opened fire on the dark figure, who deflected all his shots. The attacker then quickly used the Force to push the pilot against the nearby wall, momentarily incapacitating him.

Anakin roared in sheer rage, as he lunged at the lightsaber wielding attacker. He brutally struck the figure, proceeding to land swift and strong strikes at them. The cloaked figure blocked the Jedi Knight's attacks, but was forced to fall back, as Anakin wouldn't let down his attack. The two of the dueled past the door, when Anakin's one savage strike missed the attacker, and struck the door controls on the wall. The door closed and locked behind them, sealing them away from the rest of the human man's group.

After the door closed, Ventress immediately sprinted to Ahsoka, kneeling down beside her unmoving body. R2 chirped in a panicky manner, his dome head spinning around erratically. Jonash got up from the floor, sweat rolling down his forehead, as he breathed heavier, his son Han shaking slightly, as he was tearing up.

"Oh goodness..." The human pilot said quietly, looking at the unmoving togruta girl. Han began to sob, which made his father quickly put away his pistol, and pull him against him. Ventress was slightly hyperventilating, taking a hold of Ahsoka, and turning her on her back.

"No, no no no no no! Damn it, don't you do this, Ahsoka! Crap!" The dathomirian woman said quickly, her voice trembling ever so slightly, as she touched Ahsoka's cheek, trying to wake her up. She then touched the girl's neck, and found her pulse.

"She's still alive.. Solo, help me!" Ventress shouted, glancing at the pilot, whose hands were shaking, as he stepped over to them.

"Ah, geez... I don't know how! I don't know what to do to a lightsaber wound!" He answered, panicking slightly, as he clearly had no idea what to do. Ventress bit her lip, and tried to think for a solution.

"There's a medical bay on the Envoy, right!? We have to take her there, and then get as far away from here as possible!" She then said, to which Jonash raised his eyebrow, his lower lip trembling.

"Uh.. yeah, but it's not a hospital... I don't have any lifesaving equipment!" The pilot answered, but the dathomirian shook her head.

"Doesn't matter! We just need to keep her alive until we can get her to a medical center!" She explained, trying her best to keep herself collected. Ventress knew that they could not save Ahsoka's life themselves, but she was willing to do whatever it took, to get the togruta girl to safety, to receive proper treatment.

"I... yeah.. yeah, okay!" Jonash then answered, also having come to a decision to help as much as he could. Ventress took a deep breath, and motioned the pilot to pick Ahsoka from her hands.

"Here... you carry her. I'll keep us safe." She said quickly, offering the unconscious togruta to the human pilot, who nodded his head, but quickly turned to his son, who was still sobbing nearby.

"Han! Come over here, son.." Jonash told the boy, who walked over to him, wiping his eyes and cheeks from tears. As Han got to his father, the man handed his blaster pistol to him.

"Take this, Han... you're a big boy now. Keep the bad guys off of us.. alright?" He asked, to which his shaking son quietly nodded his head, his trembling hands taking the DL-44 pistol. After that, the pilot lifted his son's chin up.

"Hey.. it'll be fine, son... I promise." Jonash assured, after which Han took a deep breath, and nodded, his sobbing having stopped, though his face was red and wet from the tears he had earlier.

After that, the human pilot proceeded to lift Ahsoka's limp body in his arms, and carry her. Ventress got up as well, and took out her lightsabers. She then walked in front of the rest of the group, motioning them to follow her, as she began to make her way to the other direction, so that they could take another route to the Stellar Envoy.

As soon as they were about to leave, the clanking noise of approaching droids got Ventress' attention. She bit her lip, and activated her lightsabers, as two BX-series commando droids ran from behind the corner. The droids immediately aimed their blasters at the former Separatist assassin and _Nightsister_ , and opened fire. As Ventress deflected the shots, the droids were suddenly destroyed by two lightsaber wielding assailants, who appeared from behind another corner.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Ventress deactivated her lightsabers. The two lightsaber wielders were Callista and her husband Geith Eris. The human Altisian Jedi immediately noticed Ahsoka's unmoving body in Jonash's hands, as she and Geith approached the group.

"By the Force, what happened?" Callista asked in a shocked voice, her eyes fixated on Ahsoka. Ventress sighed audibly, rubbing her forehead.

"Some Dark Jedi... Skywalker's dealing with them. But we need to get Ahsoka out of here.. we're escaping aboard the Stellar Envoy." She explained to the human female, who clenched her teeth together, looking at the group. She then glanced at her husband, who stared back at her, and nodded.

"Okay.. we'll escort you there, and keep you safe. Hurry up, though.. the Separatists are slaughtering us, and Geith and I need to rejoin the battle..." Callista replied, looking around quickly. Ventress frowned slightly, but nodded in agreement.

"Lead the way." She answered, after which the two Altisian Jedi began to lead them to the other direction, along one of the hallways.

Ahsoka wouldn't have much time left, and Ventress knew that. They'd need to get her to a proper medical station as soon as possible. All she could do, was try to keep the young woman alive to the best of her abilities. She certainly had not ever thought that she'd one day give all her strength to keeping one of her bitterest rivals alive.

The dathomirian woman felt conflicted; she had been a servant of the darkness for so many years, and the way she had changed in the course of less than two years really made her feel uncertain. However, the sheer panic she had felt just a few moments ago, seeing Ahsoka being stabbed in the back had really filled her with unprecedented determination. She had to save the togruta girl, no matter what their history was. She had to save Ahsoka's life, or she could never live with herself again, no matter how weird and uncomfortable it sounded to her.

 **...**

With another enraged roar, Anakin pressed on his attack against the cloaked figure, who had just moments ago stabbed his lover Ahsoka in the back. Seething with rage and hatred, the young Jedi Knight brutally kept striking at the smaller figure, who desperately did their best to deflect his attacks.

After a moment of pushing the cloaked person back, Anakin savagely struck at them, causing the figure to stagger back. The dark cloak's hood fell off the person's head, revealing them to have greenish skin. Anakin didn't pay attention to it, and instead attack the Dark Jedi again, initiating a blade lock with them. He now got a much better look at the person, his eyes widening as he noticed her being a very familiar looking mirialan.

"Hello, Anakin.." The mirialan woman, Barriss Offee said, a small smirk on her face. Anakin's eyes were wide, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Barriss!? It's you!? How..?" He asked, breathing heavier. The former Jedi Knight turned traitor Barriss had escaped from Republic custody? But how, was what Anakin wanted to know.

"Oh, it's very simple, really... I was let out of custody by my new master, Anakin.. I am a Sith now..." The young woman explained, her voice filled with sheer arrogance, and self-entitlement. Anakin frowned deeply. Barriss had betrayed the Jedi in the worst possible way, and now she had made the biggest mistake of her life; enraging Anakin Skywalker.

"No matter what you've become, Barriss.. I will kill you for what you just did... I'll kill you!" He shouted back, before brutally ending the blade lock with a powerful strike. Barriss jumped back, swinging her red-bladed lightsaber around in a defensive manner.

Anakin pressed on his attack again, slashing his lightsaber savagely at Barriss, who blocked the strike. The mirialan then suddenly jumped into the air, flying over the Jedi Knight, and landing behind him. As Barriss attempted to slash at Anakin, he skillfully blocked the attack by moving his hands over his head, effectively covering his back, as his lightsaber pointed down towards the ground.

After the failed attack, Barriss bit her lip, and took a step back. Anakin however went on the offensive immediately, spinning around, and attempting to strike at the mirialan's legs, doing a low slashing strike. The young woman saw that coming, and quickly jumped up slightly, and performed a strong kick at Anakin, which hit him in his jaw. The man grunted, and staggered back, grabbing his chin gently.

Barriss immediately took advantage of the situation, and attempted to attack the distracted Jedi. She slashed at Anakin, trying to slice a deep wound in his chest. Anakin managed just barely to block the attack, however, and was able to counter with a strong strike, which in turn now made the young woman to stagger back.

The two of them then stared at each other for a moment. Barriss could see how enraged and full of hatred Anakin was, huffing and panting, and holding his lightsaber firmly in his hand. She took a few steps back, starting to question the logic in attacking the Jedi Knight.

"I can sense your overwhelming anger and hatred, Anakin... but you don't use them yet..." Barriss said quietly, her heart pounding in her chest. Anakin frowned deeply, taking a long breath.

"Oh, I can start using them, Barriss... I can kill you in so many different ways.. all you have to do is choose which one..." He answered, to which the mirialan bit her lip, and shook her head.

"Not this time, Anakin.." She replied, before quickly deactivating her lightsaber, and putting it on her belt.

Barriss then suddenly turned to her left, and began sprinting towards the nearby door. Using the Force, she swiped the door open, and proceeded to run into the hallway beyond. Anakin watched the Dark Jedi run, his anger only increasing. Breathing heavily, the Dark Side crept up to the young man.

"You can run... but you'll never get away from me..." He said to himself quietly, his voice especially low, and menacing.

The enraged man then proceeded to run after the escaping mirialan, keeping his lightsaber activated and ready for killing. Anakin was filled with dark determination, and overwhelming bloodthirstiness. He wanted Barriss dead, and he would stop at nothing to achieve that goal. She had to suffer for what she had just done; Anakin would not let the potential killer of the love of his life get away. He'd kill her, and of that, the man was certain.

 **...**

The muffled sounds of blaster fire and explosions made the elder Jedi Master Djinn Altis hum in concern. He was seated at his desk in his office, the human security guard captain Zallow at his side, standing prepared. Two other guards were stationed near the office's doors, weapons in their hands. The guard captain clenched his teeth together, as the sounds of battle got closer.

"We should join the fight, master... our people can't defeat the Separatists alone." He said to the passive Jedi Master, who silently sat in his seat, his eyes closed.

"We will indeed join the battle shortly, Captain... I sense a presence approaching us.. a presence I haven't felt in decades..." The man answered, calmly continuing to sit, as the guard captain raised his eyebrows.

Seconds later, the office's doors suddenly opened. As the two guards turned towards the entrance, they were swiftly cut down by a lightsaber wielding foe. Zallow gasped, and immediately stepped in front of Master Altis' desk, raising his blaster rifle at the intruder. He could recognize the attacker being the Separatist leader Count Dooku, who now turned his gaze at the Captain, two magnaguard droids walking into the office to support him.

"Master Altis.." Dooku said in a polite manner, holding his lightsaber to his side. The Jedi Master sighed deeply, and opened his eyes, getting up from his seat.

"Count Dooku. How long has it been? Fifteen years..?" Altis asked, taking out his lightsaber hilt, as he walked past Zallow, and approached the former prestigious Jedi Master turned Sith Lord.

"More or less, Djinn. What an unfortunate turn of events, that we need to meet like this.." Dooku replied, his polite, courteous personality of a gentleman apparent. The Sith Lord often employed one of his two primary personalities; that of a refined gentleman, and that of a ruthless, vile and cruel Dark Lord of the Sith.

"That it is... however, your unwarranted aggression towards us cannot go unpunished, Count. I've sensed the deaths of many of my people... more than one by your hand..." The elder Jedi Master noted, activating his dark green colored lightsaber. Dooku inhaled quickly, nodding his head, and performing the "Makashi salute" with his lightsaber.

"It is regrettable that things have to go this way... but it's all necessary.." The Sith Lord replied, taking a step back to prepare for the duel, his magnaguards standing back as well.

Master Altis lifted his lightsaber higher, holding it close to his face. The human man took a deep breath, and was ready to duel his former Jedi colleague. Before the Jedi Master could initiate the duel, two loud gunshots rang out in the room. Master Altis jerked forward slightly, grunting audibly, as he felt stinging and burning pain on his back. Count Dooku simply smiled, and deactivated his lightsaber. Behind Altis, Captain Zallow was breathing heavily, his rifle's barrel smoking. He had just shot the Jedi Master in the back.

"A pity your senses aren't what they used to be, Djinn.. otherwise you would have seen that coming." Dooku said quietly, as Altis grasped for air, and fell on his knees, his lightsaber falling out of his hand as well. Captain Zallow slowly walked next to the Jedi Master, looking down at him.

"I'm sorry, master... but I had to do it.." The traitorous man tried to explain, but the sheer look of disbelief on Altis' face made him go silent. Dooku hummed quietly, still smiling.

"It was a logical decision, Captain... most people would do whatever it takes to survive, rather than face certain doom." The Sith Lord noted, sounding almost smug. Altis breathed heavier, feeling weak.

"Is this... part of your plan, Dooku? Do the Altisian Jedi have to die, along with the rest of the Order..? We're... not part of them.." He said weakly, knowing that he sounded cold and uninterested about the Jedi Order's survival. The Sith Lord silently nodded.

"That is the unfortunate reality, Master Altis. Every single Jedi in the Galaxy has to be eliminated... the ultimate Sith victory will not be complete before that.." Dooku explained, before activating his lightsaber again, and lifting it up.

"Goodbye, Djinn Altis.." He then said, preparing to execute the Jedi. Master Altis sighed, and closed his eyes.

"There is no death..." The elder man said quietly, accepting defeat. Count Dooku then swiftly brought down his blade, slaying the leader of the Altisian Jedi. As Master Altis' body fell on the floor, Captain Zallow closed his eyes in remorse, sighing quietly.

"...only the Force.." He whispered, completing the unfinished sentence of his former employer.

After that, Dooku put away his lightsaber, and turned towards the guardsman. The elder human man placed his hand on Zallow's shoulder, smiling in an awfully calm manner.

"Well done, Captain... you have served your purpose well." The Dark Lord said with a smile, but the traitorous captain didn't seem proud.

"Thank you... though I only did this out of necessity" Zallow replied, to which the Sith Lord hummed quietly, and nodded.

"As we all do, Captain. It has been a pleasure doing business with you.." Dooku assured, before suddenly reaching out with his hand, and squeezing the air. Zallow frowned, and was immediately lifted up in the air, grasping at his throat, which was being strangled.

"No.. we.. had... a deal..." The Captain attempted to say, as he was losing air. Dooku simply chuckled, and kept strangling the man through the Force.

"Oh, don't be so surprised, Captain... another reality of the Sith is that elimination is the fate of every spy.." The Sith Lord said emotionlessly, before squeezing his hand into a fist, crushing Zallow's throat, and killing him instantly.

As the human man's dead body fell on the floor, blood coming out of his mouth and nose, Dooku simply exhaled, and dusted off his elegant and expensive robes. The Sith Lord then laid a final glance on his former Jedi colleague, before turning around, and walking out of the office, his magnaguard droids following him.

The leader of the Altisian Jedi had been killed, and the rest of the community was sure to follow. This was only one part of the Sith Grand Plan of the systematic extermination of the Jedi. It'd take a lot more effort, and all the might of the Sith to completely destroy the Jedi. But if things would be this favorable for the Sith in the future, the final destruction of the Jedi could in fact be possible.

 **...**

The alarms inside the Peacemaker were still ringing, as the group led by Callista and Ventress got to the airlock, beyond which was the smuggler freighter, Stellar Envoy. The dathomirian woman had constantly glanced over her shoulder, looking back at Jonash, who was carrying the unconscious body of Ahsoka in his arms. She felt fear, stress, despair, and anger all at once because of the situation.

As they got to the airtight doors, Ventress quickly pressed the buttons on a nearby control panel, opening the door. She then motioned the Solos and R2 to make their way aboard the Envoy, as Callista and her husband Geith stood by the door with her.

"Come on, hurry! Get her inside, Solo!" The pale skinned woman ordered, almost pushing the human man into the airlock. As Solo and his son, being backed by R2 boarded the Envoy, Ventress turned her attention towards the married Jedi couple.

"Thank you for your help... but we need to leave as soon as we can. Ahsoka won't last long.." She said to the human female, who nodded her head in understanding.

"Of course.. just get out of here. We'll handle the Separatists." Callista replied assuredly, patting her husband's shoulder, who also gave Ventress an acknowledging nod.

Only seconds later, all three Force users could suddenly sense a great disturbance in the Force. The feeling of loss and anxiousness filled Ventress for a moment, making her grab her chest, as she felt a slight sting in her heart. She could see that Callista and Geith were far more affected by the disturbance, nearly losing their balance, as they seemed dizzy.

"Geith..." Callista whispered, glancing at her husband, who seemed just as shocked.

"Master Altis... he.. he's..." Geith answered, his breathing getting heavier. Ventress could then realize, what had just happened.

"He's dead." A strong male voice then suddenly announced. Ventress raised her eyebrows, and turned to look towards the source of the voice.

At the other end of the hallway stood a weequay man, donned in dark brown Jedi robes. She immediately recognized the man being Sora Bulq; a former Jedi Master in the Order, who later turned to the Dark Side, and became an acolyte of Count Dooku. Ventress herself had worked with Bulq on some occasions, back when she was aligned with the Separatists as well.

"Bulq!" The dathomirian woman shouted angrily, and attempted to charge at the weequay Dark Jedi. Before she could grab her lightsabers, Callista moved her arm in front of her, stopping Ventress.

"No! You must stay at Ahsoka's side! Get her to safety, and treat her... we'll handle this!" The human female said in a strong voice, her expression now collected and determined, after the initial shock of sensing Master Altis' death.

Ventress bit her lip, glancing between Callista, and Bulq, who still stood several meters away from them. She wanted to attack the weequay so badly, but she realized that her allies, Ahsoka especially, needed her the most right now. With an appreciative smile and nod to the two Altisian Jedi, Ventress quickly turned around, and ran inside the airlock, sealing the doors after her.

As the two Altisian Jedi were left alone in the hallway, Bulq chuckled quietly, approaching the two. Callista took a deep breath, and glanced at her husband, who gave her a supporting pat on the shoulder. The two of them then activated their lightsabers, Callista's hilt emitting a yellow blade, while Geith's projected a green one.

"Your precious leader lies dead.. just like the two of you will be in a moment." Bulq taunted, taking out his main lightsaber hilt, as well as his shoto hilt. Callista and Geith didn't listen to the weequay's attempts at distracting them, and instead laid one last loving glance at each other.

"Whatever happens... know that I love you more than anything.." Geith said to Callista, who sighed quietly, and gave her husband a slight smile.

"No matter what.. we'll always be together, my love..." She replied, before the both of them returned their attention to the weequay Dark Jedi, who chuckled.

"This will be fun.. killing two Jedi who are married. There's a first time for everything..." Bulq remarked, activating his two lightsabers, a devilish grin on his face.

The two Altisian Jedi prepared for battle, raising their lightsabers, while the weequay man simply approached them, confident in his abilities. He had reason to not worry about anything, as he was once a prominent Jedi Master in the Order, and had co-designed the brutal and effective lightsaber form Vapaad. Bulq was sure that he'd make quick work of the married Jedi couple.

Outside, the Stellar Envoy detached from the Peacemaker, its engines powering on. The Corellian YT-1300 light freighter quickly warmed up its sublight engines, before steering itself away from the Dreadnaught-class cruiser. The blue light from the ship's engines strengthened, becoming more illuminating, as the Envoy pushed itself forwards, increasing its speed at every second.

Several droid vulture fighters flew past the freighter, but paid no attention to it, instead attacking the Peacemaker. The cruisers and frigates of the Separatist flee also gave no attempt at firing upon the Envoy, most likely viewing it as an unimportant target. This gave the Corellian ship a safe and free passage away from the area, as it increased its distance from the battle, leaving the Peacemaker's and its inhabitants behind.

 **...**

The mirialan Sith apprentice Barriss Offee panted slightly, as she sprinted through the long hallways of the Peacemaker. She frantically looked around, trying to find an escape route, but could only see closed doors, and bodies lying on the floor. After a moment, she located an open door, and made a run for it.

As soon as she ran into the room, she noticed it being a small break room, used by the security guards. He heart skipped a beat, as she realized that she had hit a dead end. Turning around, Barriss' eyes widened, and she let out a quiet gasp, seeing the enraged Anakin standing at the doorway. The Jedi Knight seemed to be fully immersed in the Dark Side, though he did not possess the yellow glowing eyes, that usually indicated a Force user's immersion in the darkness.

"Nowhere left to run, Barriss..." Anakin said in a low, menacing, almost psychotic voice, his eyes staring at the mirialan woman, who bit her lip, and stepped back.

"Anakin.. you're not thinking straight now. This is not how a Jedi acts..." Barriss tried to reason with the young man, who simply scoffed, and shook his head.

"You should know all about it then, Barriss..." He answered, before slowly walking towards her, ready for the kill. Barriss took a deep breath, and activated her Sith lightsaber. She was now feeling fear and uncertainty, believing that her skills could not save her from the enraged Chosen One.

Anakin quickly lunged forward, performing a powerful strike, bringing his lightsaber down from over his head. Barriss blocked the attack, initiating a blade lock with him. Drips of sweat rolled down her forehead, as she looked at the frowning Jedi Knight.

"You don't have to do this, Anakin! Maybe Ahsoka is still alive! Maybe the wound was not fatal.." She tried to reason with him again, but Anakin frowned deeper. The mirialan woman's pleading was getting on his nerves.

"You call yourself a Sith, and yet you act like a complete coward? You're nothing more than a useless failure, Barriss! Now die with some dignity at least!" He shouted back, before ending the blade lock, and proceeding to brutally assault her, striking her several times, each time putting in more anger and hatred to the attack.

Barriss desperately put in all her effort to blocking the ruthless Jedi's attacks, but was slowly starting to be overwhelmed. Anakin kept striking his lightsaber at her, now causing the mirialan woman to lean back slightly, her energy diminishing. The human would soon be able to strike her down once and for all.

As he struck his blade down, Anakin managed to Force Barriss on one knee. She moaned in desperation, fearful that this was her end. The enraged Jedi Knight wouldn't back down, he'd kill the young woman for sure. As he was successful at pushing Barriss down, Anakin then prepared to finish her off. He lifted his hands up, readying to strike his lightsaber down, and execute the weak mirialan.

As he brought the lightsaber blade down, Barriss reached out with her hand, and used the Force to push Anakin away. The human man slid on his feet on the metallic floor, grunting in frustration, as his execution was ruined. Before he could charge at Barriss again, he heard the clanking noise of approaching droids behind him. Turning around quickly, to his great surprise, Anakin could see two magnaguard droids, as well as Count Dooku at the doorway.

"Master Skywalker... what a surprise seeing you here. I see that you escaped the injuries General Grievous inflicted upon you." The well mannered elder man said with a slight smile. Anakin frowned deeply, raising his lightsaber.

"I'm not so easy to kill, Dooku.. as you've seen time and time again. You on the other hand, are not.." He said simply, before lunging at the Sith Lord, who quickly activated his lightsaber, and blocked the attack.

As Anakin pressed on his attack against the Sith Lord, Barriss stayed back, trying to ease her breath, as she stood up. Dooku and Anakin kept on dueling, the elder Sith Lord surprised at how aggressive the young Jedi acted right now. The two of them initiated a blade lock after a few seconds, Anakin huffing slightly, sweat rolling down his frowning forehead.

"I sense so much anger and hatred in you, Skywalker... you'd make a fine acolyte, should you renounce the Jedi, and turn to the Dark Side.." Dooku suggested, smirking deviously. The young man frowned deeper, knowing that he was drifting towards the dark right now, but he still wanted nothing to do with the Sith.

"That would be the last thing I do! I'd rather die than join you!" He shouted back, ending the blade lock by overpowering Dooku, and causing him to stagger back slightly.

Anakin immediately went on the offensive, swinging around wildly, and preparing to strike at Dooku with no mercy. As he swung around, he was suddenly interrupted by Barriss activating her lightsaber, and landing a strike on the human Jedi, which forced him to defend himself, ending his offensive.

Dooku then immediately attacked as well, managing to cut a small wound on the back of Anakin's right leg. The young man hissed in pain, and turned at the Sith Lord, swinging his lightsaber at him. The two Dark Side users were surprised at his stubbornness and resilience, but they knew that the young Jedi Knight could be taken down, if they worked together.

For the next several seconds, Barriss and Dooku took turns in attacking Anakin, trying to either poke at him with their lightsabers, or taking wild swings at him. The slightly wounded Jedi managed to hold his ground, though getting exhausted at deflecting the dozens of attacks he had to defend himself against. He managed to do so by pouring in all his emotion, all his fear and stress into strengthening his powers. Using emotion as your primary power source was strictly forbidden for the Jedi, as it led to the Dark Side, but Anakin didn't care right now.

After a moment, as Barriss struck against him, the young man blocked her attack. Anakin could hear Dooku swinging his lightsaber behind him, which caused the Jedi to quickly turn around, and attempt to slash at the elder Sith Lord. Dooku managed to dodge the attack, jumping back slightly. As Anakin was left unprotected, the Count struck, cutting a small slice on the young man's chest.

Anakin clenched his teeth together, and staggered back, grabbing his chest with his hand. As he regained his focus, he could hear the sound of a moving lightsaber behind him; Barriss had the perfect opportunity to attack him.

Before he could react, Anakin could feel a stinging, burning and gripping pain on his back. Not even a second later, Barriss' red lightsaber blade came through his stomach, much like had happened to Ahsoka earlier. Gasping and groaning, the wounded Jedi pulled himself out of the grinning mirialan's blade, attempting to fight back at Dooku, who stood ahead.

The Sith Lord countered by severing Anakin's cybernetic arm, as he attempted to slash at him. The severed robotic arm fell on the floor, still holding the man's lightsaber. Anakin weakly groaned, and fell on his knees. As Dooku walked right in front of him, the young man looked up. The Sith Lord smiled, and offered his hand.

"We can save you, Skywalker. All you have to do... is join us.." He offered, to which the young, rebellious man scoffed, and shook his head.

"Like I said... I'll rather die than join you, Dooku.." Anakin replied with a scoff, weakly smiling, and shaking his head, looking down. The elder human man's smile faded, and he hummed quietly.

"So be it.." Dooku answered quietly, deactivating his curved lightsaber, and putting it away. As Anakin sighed, and closed his eyes, he could hear Barriss chuckle behind him.

The mirialan woman used the situation to her advantage, wanting to strike down the young Jedi once and for all. She raised her lightsaber up, and brought it down, proceeding to execute Anakin. Just as she was about to hit the man's neck, her hands stopped. Barriss' eyes widened, and she looked at Dooku with shock, as the Sith Lord reached out with his hand, having stopped her with the Force.

"Did I give you permission to execute him?" The elderly man asked, raising his eyebrow. Barriss gasped, not believing her ears.

"What!? He's already a dead man! Let me finish this!" She said loudly, frowning now. Dooku simply shook his head slowly.

"You failed to defeat Sora Bulq on Yavin 4, and you just failed to defeat Skywalker by yourself. Only thing you did was stab him in the back... and I will not let you get a cheap victory over him, by letting you kill him this way.." The Sith Lord explained, before abruptly pulling Barriss' lightsaber out of her hands. She breathed heavily, huffing with both anger, and fear.

"I'll be sure to inform my master of your incompetence... now come on.." Dooku said, turning around, and walking away from the room. Barriss' heart pounded in her chest.

She was deathly afraid of Darth Sidious killing her for her inability to kill both Anakin, and Bulq, but she also felt extreme anger and hatred for Dooku. She wanted to kill the old man so badly, but knew that she would only die herself, if she tried it now.

The two Dark Side users then left the break room, as Anakin stayed on his knees on the floor. After Barriss walked out of the room, the magnaguards following, the young Jedi Knight closed his eyes, and his body fell on the floor. The dying human man stayed still, accepting his fate, as he was falling unconscious.

"I'm sorry, Soka... my love..." He whispered quietly, after which he fell unconscious. Anakin's breathing became slower, as his heart rate dropped more and more. His body temperature was also falling fast, as death crept up on him.

As Barriss and Dooku walked on the hallway near the break room, the roughed and battle-worn Bulq suddenly appeared, walking from behind a corner in a fast pace. The weequay slightly bowed to his human master, showing him respect.

"Good, I found the two of you. We need to leave; a Republic fleet just jumped into the system. We're outgunned, so we should get out of here..." He explained, to which the elder Sith Lord simply nodded, quickly glancing at Barriss, and handing her lightsaber back to her.

"We're finished here. Let us return to the Invisible Hand. The rest of the occupants of this ship will die as we destroy it... Skywalker included. Come.." Dooku said, as he began to walk his way along the hallway. Bulq and Barriss followed the Sith Lord, the magnaguards also accompanying them.

In the following moments, the three Dark Side users exited the Peacemaker, boarding the Providence-class cruiser the Invisible Hand. They left behind a wake of death and absolute destruction, having caused the extinction of the Altisian Jedi. The handful of survivors still aboard the ship would be killed soon, as the Invisible Hand would blast the cruiser to space dust after a few minutes. The Sith had achieved a victory, a significant one in their quest to exterminate the entirety of the Jedi Order, and wipe out all Jedi in the Galaxy.

 **...**

Ventress and Jonash hovered around Ahsoka's unmoving body, as they had just placed her on the medical bed inside the Stellar Envoy. The dathomirian woman panted slightly, getting all sort of life support equipment plugged into the unconscious togruta, who was in critical condition.

"We need to get her to a medical facility soon! These equipment won't keep her alive for long!" Ventress said in slight frustration, placing a breathing mask on Ahsoka's face. Jonash nodded, breathing heavily as he placed a _kolto_ injector into the girl's arm, pushing the small needle into her skin.

"Kolto's all I have... but it's better than nothing.." He explained, sighing quietly, and rubbing his forehead.

Kolto was one of the two healing liquids used all over the Galaxy. Thousands of years ago, it was the main medical substance used to treat wounds both minor and critical. It was eventually replaced by the more effective _bacta_ , although kolto would still be used as a secondary substance to this day.

"She needs a bacta tank at least! Let's just find a medical station.. and quickly!" Ventress replied, still doing all she could to give Ahsoka better chances at survival. Jonash nodded in agreement, before turning around to look at his son, who stood by.

"Han, get us to lightspeed! We need to get out of here!" He ordered, to which his son bit his lip, and rubbed his arm.

"Uh.. but to where?" The young boy asked, not knowing what to do. His father sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Anywhere! Just hurry, son! I'm needed here for now.." Jonash replied, before returning his attention to trying to treat Ahsoka. Han nodded quickly, and then sprinted to the Envoy's cockpit, R2 following him.

As the boy and the astromech droid got to the cockpit after a short moment, Han immediately sat down. He frantically pressed dozens of buttons on the dashboard, turning off the ship's autopilot as well. As he took controls of the ship, R2 plugged himself in on the computer, accessing the hyperspace charts.

"Just pick some coordinates from the star charts, R2! Hurry!" Han said to the small droid, who chirped in an acknowledging response. R2 then picked the first coordinates that came up in the computers, and punched them in to the ship's navicomputer. After that, he chirped again, letting the young pilot know that everything was ready.

"Ready? Let's go then!" The boy said, tightly grabbing the hyperspace lever with his hand. He pushed the lever up, launching the Envoy to lightspeed.

The star elongated, as the Corellian freighter jumped to hyperspace, and left the Hoth system behind it. Han had no idea where R2 had set the ship's coordinates to, but the most important thing for them now, was to get away from the Separatists, and set course to the nearest medical station.

Ahsoka was still alive, barely. But the equipment aboard the Envoy could not keep her going for long, as they needed much more advanced supplies and equipment to save her life. Ventress, along with the Solos and R2, was determined to do just that, however. The dathomirian had not come this far, changed this much, to let one of her oldest rivals, and newest friends to die this way.

She, along with the rest of her group, had to do all they could, in order to save the young togruta, and they were determined to try their hardest. They were all in this together now, and leaving someone behind wasn't an option. They had however left Anakin behind, but Ventress was confident, that the young Jedi Knight would deal with Ahsoka's attacked easily, and find them after all had passed. She however had no idea, what had actually happened on the Peacemaker since they left...


	13. Chapter 12: The Mystics of Voss

**Chapter 12: The Mystics of Voss**

The darkened control room of the Klegger Corp Mining Facility on Mustafar was completely silent, giving an eerie atmosphere to the final headquarters of the Separatist Council. The dead bodies of the slaughtered Separatist leaders still lied on the floors, several destroyed battle droid corpses scattered around as well.

One of the doors to the control room opened, three armored figures entering immediately after. The figures were clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic, clad in dark grey and obsidian black protective armor. The troopers were called _Shadow Troopers_ ; special forces units devised by _Republic Intelligence_ , to undergo covert missions that required stealth and secrecy. Much like ARC troopers, and _clone commandos_ , shadow troopers were highly trained, and much more deadly compared to regular infantry of the Republic military.

The three clones immediately walked around the control room, securing the area, while scanning their surroundings with their special-issue modified DC-15S blaster carbines. The clones finished their work, coming to the center of the room after a few moments. One of the troopers looked at the doorway they had just arrived from.

"Area secure! General Pavan, General Olin.. you're free to enter." The clone announced, before looking around again, glancing at the dead Separatist leaders.

In the following moments, several more shadow troopers entered the room, being accompanied by two human male Jedi Knights. The older Jedi was donned in a combination of light armor, and traditional Jedi apparel, and the younger man wore a simple, yet stylish and unorthodox leather jacket, and regular pants. Wearing other than traditional Jedi apparel was frowned upon by the Order, but other outfits were allowed to be worn regardless of that.

The older Jedi Knight was _Ferus Olin_ , a 24 year old man from _Bellassa_. Being the former Padawan of the late Jedi Master _Siri Tachi_ , who was an old acquaintance of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ferus had accompanied Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker on numerous missions during their Jedi training. He and Anakin had developed a rivalry, and for years tried to determine which one of them was the better Jedi, by pushing each other to the limits, and trying to find weaknesses in one another. After his master had died years ago, Ferus had not been in frequent contact with Skywalker, nor Obi-Wan.

The young, 20 year old man next to Olin was the recently knighted _Jax Pavan_. Jax was the former Padawan of the _lannik_ Jedi Master _Even Piell_ , who was a member of the Jedi High Council, up until his death earlier in the Clone War. The young man's Jedi training was in its last stretches before Piell's death, but losing his master had still made Jax's Trials of Knighthood more difficult. He passed his trials however, and was made a Jedi Knight a few months ago.

Like Ferus, Jax had become acquainted with Obi-Wan, Anakin, as well as the young Jedi Knight's Padawan Ahsoka Tano during his apprenticeship under Even Piell. Unlike his colleague, the young man bore no ill will towards Skywalker, instead considering him to be an exemplary Jedi. Jax found several similarities between himself and Anakin, being an irregular Jedi as well. His master Even Piell had also influenced him to be unique, and not give in to peer pressure, and be like his fellow Jedi. As such, the young man preferred wearing other than Jedi clothing, to stand out and be different.

"What's the situation?" Ferus asked, taking a deep breath as he and Jax walked further in to the control room. The younger human man scoffed quietly, his eyes looking between the different bodies on the ground.

"I'll tell you what the situation is; the Separatist Council is gone.." He noted, stroking his chin slightly. The clones under their command continued to search around the room, cataloguing the corpses of the former Separatist Council members.

The two Jedi Knights worked as agents for the Republic Intelligence, answering to the _Director of Republic Intelligence_ , and the head of the _Senate Bureau of Intelligence_ , who was the influential _Armand Isard_. Ferus and Jax were the only Jedi working for Republic Intelligence, along with eighteen other Knights and Masters of the Order. These twenty Jedi worked as special operations agents inside the organization, as well as commanders of shadow trooper squads on covert missions.

"The Republic did not do this... so the question is that who did?" Ferus remarked, sighing slightly, as he walked over to the corpses of Passel Argente and his aide. His colleague shrugged his shoulders, kneeling down next to the body of the InterGalactic Banking Clan leader San Hill.

"No idea... but it seems that the entire Separatist leadership has been eliminated. Well... except for Count Dooku.." Jax said, turning the muun body on its back, and inspecting it.

"And General Grievous, assuming that Master Kenobi hasn't killed him yet..." Ferus replied quickly, standing up, and turning towards a nearby clone trooper, who had slightly different armor from the rest of the shadow trooper squad.

"Captain _Ryder_ , sweep the area, and try to find a security room... we need to find out who committed this slaughter." The Jedi Knight said, to which the clone captain quickly nodded his helmeted head.

"Copy that, sir!" The Captain said with a finger salute, after which he signaled his subordinates to follow, as he made his way out of the control room.

Being left alone in the room, Ferus and Jax continued their detective work. As the older human man started to make his way to the nearby conference room, seeing the body of Wat Tambor near the doorway, Jax got his attention by whistling quickly.

"Ferus... they've been killed with a lightsaber. Look at the wounds on the bodies.." The young Jedi Knight noted, pointing at the clear lightsaber cuts on San Hill's body.

His partner frowned slightly, and looked around the room. He then noticed the beheaded corpse of the Commerce Guild President Shu Mai lying on the floor, which made him hum quietly.

"You're right... but the question is; were there more than one assailant? And more importantly, was this Count Dooku's doing, or someone else's?" He wondered, walking over to Jax, who stood up.

"Who else could it be? He and Sora Bulq must have come here, and killed the Separatist councilors... but for what reason.. I have no idea, Ferus..." The young Jedi answered, wiping his forehead slightly, as the hot climate of Mustafar was pretty intense for him.

"It really begs the question; why would they do this to their own allies? The Separatists are on the verge of total defeat as it is.. so why eliminate the ruling body of the government?" Ferus asked, placing his hands on his waist. His partner bit his lip, and quickly looked around, as if making sure that no one was near them.

"It might be part of their devious plans... this entire war could just be an attempt by them to destroy us. And what if they had help? What if someone else came here to massacre the Separatist Council?" Jax replied quietly, to which his colleague frowned.

"Help from who? They'd have to know how to use a lightsaber, and as far as I know, no Jedi has defected in years..." The man answered, stroking his lightly bearded chin. Jax stared at him silently, sighing.

"You know there's at least one, Ferus..." He said, which caused Ferus to raise his eyebrows again, as he had to thought about his friend's words for a moment.

"What.. you mean, Barriss!? She was imprisoned months ago, Jax... and she hasn't gotten out at any point.." He replied, shaking his head, not willing to go along with his partner's conspiracy theories. The younger Jedi bit his lip again.

"How do you know? Remember when she was transferred from the Detention Center to an undisclosed location a few months back? All the records were sealed, and no one knows what happened with her..." Jax said back, clearly believing his worries being true. Ferus sighed, not being so sure.

"Or if someone knew, the Jedi weren't told... possibly on purpose. But who do you think broke Barriss out? Dooku? You think he has that kind of pull in the Republic military?" He asked, to which Jax shrugged his shoulders.

"What if the rumors about his Sith Master are true? What if the Sith actually do control parts of the Senate and the Republic from the shadows..?" The young man proposed, stroking his chin. Ferus clenched his teeth together, shuddering at just the thought of the Sith being behind such things.

"If that's true, then we're in great danger, Jax... who knows what the Sith could machinate in order to destroy all Jedi.." He said, shaking his head, and sighing. The young Jedi Knight nodded in agreement.

"My point exactly, Ferus. If Barriss is now aligned with the Sith, and was released through manipulating the Republic, we need to be on our guard, and inform the Council immediately... it's really starting to look like we can only trust ourselves nowadays.." Jax replied, scratching the back of his head. Ferus agreed, as hard as it was to admit, but he too knew, that the Jedi could only rely on each other, when it came to it.

"We need to get back to Coruscant... the Council has to know that Barriss has possibly joined the Sith!" He exclaimed, to which his partner quickly nodded, patting Ferus on the shoulder.

"Exactly what I was thinking. We'll sweep around the rest of this facility, and then we can head back to Coruscant. But we must not tell anyone about this, until we are back at the Temple.." Jax said determinately, knowing that contacting the Council by other means than seeing them in person could be spied upon by Sith-aligned Republic officials.

"Right... who knows how many of our allies are secretly working for Dooku and the Sith. Even our fellow Jedi abandon their principles and join them..." Ferus replied, shaking his head in disappointment, as he reflected upon all the former Jedi, who joined the Separatists, such as Sora Bulq, and Quinlan Vos for a time.

"Let's go find Ryder, and see if we can find some security cam footage... we've got to know whether or not Barriss was behind this.." Jax then said with a nod, as he tapped Ferus' shoulder again, walking past him, and towards the nearby hallway, where the shadow trooper squad had headed earlier.

As Jax left the room, Ferus stayed still for a moment, slowly looking around, eyeing all the bodies around him. He couldn't fathom the idea that Barriss Offee could have been behind the massacre, as she had been such an ideal Jedi just a few years ago. Ferus had trained with her many times during his years as a Jedi, and seeing Barriss fall so far saddened him beyond belief. Still, if the disgraced former Jedi was indeed behind the slaughter of the Separatist Council, Ferus was determined to bring her down, and face judgment in front of the Jedi Council.

The human man sighed deeply, stroking his chin. He felt uneasy, and even afraid of the fact that the Sith could possibly be manipulating Galactic politics in order to further their aims. The millennia of peace, when the Jedi thought their nemeses had been extinct, now seemed like the biggest ruse in all of history, as the Sith would have instead been preparing to strike at an opportune moment, while the Jedi rested at their cradle of power. Even the shadowy re-emergence of the ancient Sith Empire seemed like a small problem, compared to the possible consequences of this unknown, yet evil plan.

"By the Force, what have we gotten ourselves into..." Ferus said quietly to himself, as he sighed again.

He then regained focus, and began to follow his partner, who had now exited the control room. The young Jedi Knight left the dead Separatist Council members behind him, knowing that darker times were ahead of them, and that he and all of his fellow Jedi had to prepare for that, if they wished to survive. The Jedi were in great danger, that was for certain.

 **...**

The Corellian YT-1300 series freighter Stellar Envoy traversed through the blue and dark colored alternate state of existence, and dimension known as hyperspace. The weathered and roughed up old freighter effortlessly flew through space and time, utilizing the faster than light technologies that had been first invented thousands of years ago. Even though the hyperdrive technology improved constantly, the basis of it had stayed the same for nearly 25 thousand years.

Inside the ship's main hold, dathomirian former Separatist agent and assassin Asajj Ventress, silently sat down next to the unconscious togruta girl, Ahsoka Tano, who was gravely injured on the flagship of the Altisian Jedi movement just a few hours ago. The young girl was barely alive, the barebones medical supplies of the Envoy keeping her on the brink. Ventress had not left Ahsoka's side for a moment, staying beside the person she had for so long called an enemy.

The Envoy's captain, Jonash Solo, sat by the couch and the Dejarik table nearby, eating some of the rations he had aboard the ship. The human pilot had done all he could to help the togruta girl, feeling it being his responsibility to help in any way he could. Even though he wasn't accountable to neither Ventress or Ahsoka, Jonash wanted to help, out of the goodness of his heart.

"You should eat something, Ventress... she ain't going anywhere." The man said, as he took another bite of the rather uninteresting looking precooked meal. The dathomirian woman shot a frown at him, shaking her head.

"I'll eat once she's safe and secure on a medical ward... everything else can wait.." Ventress replied, returning her attention to the unconscious togruta. She gently touched Ahsoka's cold hand, holding it for a second. Jonash swallowed a bite of his food, and took a sip from his drink, before humming quietly.

"I've never seen you like this, Asajj. You really have changed, you know?" He noted, having known Ventress before, during her bounty hunter days. The woman let out a quiet grunt, rolling her eyes.

"Keep talking like that, and I'll change back to my normal self... and I know you wouldn't want that.." She answered, with a small smirk forming on her face. Jonash bit his lip, and returned to eating, keeping his mouth shut.

After a few moments, the pilot's young son, Han Solo, entered the main hold, having piloted the ship for the last few hours. Although he was young, Han was quite a skilled pilot already, much like Ahsoka's former master, Anakin.

"Dad.. we have a problem..." The boy said, as he walked over to his father. Jonash sighed, and put down his utensils.

"What is it, son?" He asked, to which his son scratched the back of his head.

"Since we didn't get the chance to refuel at Hoth.. we won't have enough fuel to reach Manaan.." Han explained, starting to fiddle with his hands, as his father sighed, and slammed his fist on the table.

"Blast it! They would have had state of the art equipment at their medical stations..." The man said in frustration, rubbing his forehead as he thought of alternatives.

 _Manaan_ was the homeworld of kolto, the once most widely used medical substance in the Galaxy. Even though bacta had taken over the medical supply market for the most part, Manaan was still known for having advanced and state of the art medical facilities on the oceanic planet's surface cities. The native _selkath_ had always been known for being brilliant doctors, and medical experts. They'd be more than capable of saving Ahsoka's life.

"What are our options then?" Ventress asked, chirping in on the conversation. Han rubbed his arm, and quickly bit his lip.

"Well... the nearest planet on our course is some place called Voss.." He answered, not having any idea what the planet in question was. His father raised his eyebrows, before scoffing quietly.

"Voss? Forget it; they would just turn us away, if we tried to land there..." Jonash stated, leaning back on the couch, and letting out a long exhale. Ventress frowned slightly, thinking about the option.

 _Voss_ was a mysterious planet in the Outer Rim, being inhabited by the equally mysterious and reclusive species, named also _voss_. Several thousand years ago, Voss was a member of the Republic for a few centuries, before they suddenly withdrew their support, and returned to live on their planet in isolation. Ever since then, the voss had stayed outside of Galactic politics, having cut off all ties to the Republic, and their planet remained mostly closed to off-worlders.

The voss believed that the Force was a conduit to the future, and they based all of their important decisions on what the visions of their _Mystics_ told them. The Mystics were Force-sensitive voss, who received visions through the Force, glimpses of the future, and relayed them to the people. Specially trained "interpreters" would then spend days, weeks, even months in order to determine what decisions they should make, so that the Mystic's visions would come true.

"Voss..? I remember studying the voss people in the Jedi Temple, when I was still part of the Order... and to my recollection, they have powerful healers that could help us!" Ventress then exclaimed, remembering back to her Jedi days. Other Force-sensitive voss served as powerful healers, utilizing the Force to heal all kinds of injuries and illnesses.

"Then you'll also remember that they're really paranoid about outsiders, Ventress... they won't let us stay.." Jonash assured, not believing that going to Voss would be worth the effort. Ventress was silent for a moment, her gaze travelling to Ahsoka. She sighed quietly, before determinately looking at the pilot.

"It's the only chance we have! We're going to Voss, Solo.. we have to do it for Ahsoka!" She replied, her voice getting slightly irate. The human man stared at her for a few long seconds, before nodding.

"Fine.. if you're sure..." He answered in a rather monotone voice. Jonash then turned to look at his son, who still stood nearby.

"Set a course for Voss, Han... I'll need to work on my charm in the meanwhile; we're going to have to convince the voss to let us stay on their planet.." The man said, as he stood up from his seat, and grabbed his meal, walking into the nearby forward hold.

Han quickly ran back to the cockpit, setting the ship's course to Voss, with R2-D2's help, who overlooked the Envoy's controls and computers. Ventress sighed again, and returned her attention to the sleeping Ahsoka, whose weak breath was soon the only sound in the main hold, apart from the sound of the ship's engines.

The dathomirian woman slowly stood up, and reached over to the togruta girl, gently touching her forehead. Ahsoka was cold, her body barely holding together. The young girl was nearly dead, and would not last long, if help would not be found soon. Ventress took a deep breath, sitting back down, and leaning on the bed Ahsoka was lying on. She had changed from a ruthless killer, into a caring friend, which was something that still bothered her slightly. She could almost remember the feeling she had had when she was still with the Jedi; a feeling Ventress thought to have forgotten completely.

Shaking her head slightly, she snapped out of her thoughts, and gently rubbed Ahsoka's arm with her thumb.

"Hang in there, little one... I'll get you to safety. And then.. we'll get you back to Anakin..." She said quietly, looking at the togruta girl, knowing that she couldn't hear her.

Ventress had no idea what had come of Anakin after the attack on the Altisian Jedi. She hoped for the best, being confident that the determined and powerful Jedi Knight had survived the attack, and likely punished the dark figure, who had injured Ahsoka in the first place.

As she leaned back on her seat again, Ventress crossed her arms over her chest, and closed her eyes, trying to get at least some rest. She, Ahsoka and Anakin had been on the run ever since escaping Jabba on Tatooine, with no chance to rest at all. It would not be a long voyage to Voss, but there was time for her to rest her eyes at least a little bit.

In the meanwhile, the Stellar Envoy continued to fly through hyperspace, having corrected its course towards Voss. In a short while, the ship would reach the mysterious and dark world, from where the group could hopefully find some much needed help. Should the voss turn them around, however, Ahsoka's survival would be much more problematic.

 **...**

The powerful mass-driver cannon of an AT-TE walker shot out a projectile, which impacted on the wall of a reinforced bunker several hundred meters away. Near the walker's legs, several clone troopers of the 212th Attack Battalion rushed forwards, moving to attack the Separatist positions.

The walker and the squads of troopers were situated on a large landing pad in the capital "sinkhole city" of Utapau. Two LAAT/i gunships landed on the stating ground, unloading new squads of troopers from them. Near the AT-TE, clone marshal commander CC-2224, nicknamed "Cody", stood still and used a set of _macrobinoculars_ to spot targets for the walker. The veteran clone commander spotted a damaged Separatist AAT positioned in an alley some distance away.

"Walker 7! Fire at coordinates 29755!" Cody ordered, yelling into his armor's built in radio. The walker's cannon operator moved the gun to aim at the coordinates, and fired.

The shot flew across the air, and hit the droid tank right under its main turret, destroying the vehicle in a bright explosion. After the explosion, the iktotchi Jedi Master Saesee Tiin chuckled, standing next to the clone commander.

"Good eye, Commander!" The Jedi Master complimented with a chuckle, overseeing the battle.

The droid forces were in the process of total defeat, as the Republic troops had mercilessly attacked them for several hours straight. The droid army was largely inhibited by the lack of effective command, since General Grievous had been unaccounted for a few hours. Republic victory was inevitable, and Utapau would be one of the last Separatist held worlds liberated, as the war was nearing its end.

As Cody and Master Tiin looked on, they could suddenly hear the loud howl of a varactyl behind them. As they turned around, they could see Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi approach them, riding his trusty steed and companion; a female varactyl named Boga. The human Jedi steered his mount to the clone commander, as well as his Jedi colleague, pulling on the reins, and bringing Boga to a halt. The varactyl howled again, and stood on two legs for a moment, before settling down.

"General Kenobi, sir!" Cody said with a small salute, standing in attention. The iktotchi Jedi Master next to him smiled, having his hands on his waist.

"At ease, Cody." Obi-Wan replied to the clone commander, who then relaxed slightly. Master Tiin let out an audible hum, looking at the human Jedi.

"It's good to see you safe and sound, Obi-Wan... I hope you bring us good news regarding General Grievous.." The man said, to which his Jedi colleague answered with a slight smile, and a nod, as he took out a heavily modified blaster pistol from his belt.

"I do... General Grievous is dead." Obi-Wan announced, as he threw the blaster on the ground. Master Tiin raised his brows, looking at the weapon, as Commander Cody picked it up.

"The General's body is located in a cavern several kilometers to the south east... I can provide the coordinates after the battle is over." He continued, after which the older Jedi Master smiled, and crossed his arms.

"You have done the Republic, the Jedi, and the entire Galaxy a great service, Obi-Wan. It was due time for that monstrous general to meet his end..." Master Tiin said, relief clear in his voice. Grievous had haunted the Jedi Order long enough.

"Indeed. I took these from his body as well.. I think it's high time we return them to the Temple..." Obi-Wan then said, taking out several Jedi lightsaber hilts, and handing them over to the iktotchi man, who hummed as he took them.

"The spirits of their owners can finally rest easy, knowing that their lightsabers have been returned to the Order." Master Tiin noted sentimentally. Obi-Wan agreed, knowing that Grievous had stolen his fair share of Jedi lightsabers from his dozens of victims.

"The Galaxy is a safer place without him.. but we still have a battle to win!" He stated then, determinately looking at his clone subordinate, who stood straight again.

"Our forces have pushed the droids far into the inner parts of the city, sir! They won't last until the end of this rotation." Commander Cody explained, to which Obi-Wan smiled, and nodded his head, taking out his lightsaber hilt.

"Good. Master Tiin, stay here to coordinate the final push. I will join our forces in the front lines!" The Jedi Master said, as he activated his lightsaber, and swung it around. The iktotchi male smiled, and nodded.

"May the Force be with you, Obi-Wan!" Master Tiin replied with a confident smile, as the clone commander next to him saluted the human man.

Obi-Wan then took Boga's reins again, and caused the varactyl to howl, and got up on her two legs. The female varactyl then settled down on the ground, after which Obi-Wan made her move quickly forwards, and approach the battle ahead.

As the human Jedi Master journeyed to enter the last push in the massive battle, his Jedi colleague and clone commander subordinate stayed behind, coordinating the final assault. Utapau was about to fall into Republic hands, and its inhabitants could finally be liberated from the Separatist occupation. The Clone War was nearly over, as the last of the Separatist holdings were quickly falling to the relentless Republic offensive, as well as to the invading chiss forces. The war that had ravaged the Galaxy for over three years, was finally coming to an end. However, even more war loomed in the horizon, as the Hutts would not be an easy foe to defeat.

 **...**

Light rain fell from the grey and darkened sky of the terrestrial jungle planet of _Keskin_. The densely forested planet had been one of the most remote outposts of the ancient _Rakatan_ _Infinite Empire_. Ever since the ancient rakata had been wiped out by a mysterious pandemic, and their slave races such as humans had revolted against them, Keskin was one of the dozen worlds that remained abandoned to this day. Hundreds of ancient rakatan ruins still lied on the planet's surface, albeit having been overgrown by vegetation a long time ago.

On top of a large rocky hill, being surrounded by thick jungle, a crouched clone trooper sat still silently, a _DC-17m sniper rifle_ tightly in his hands. The clone looked through the scope, his breathing slow and steady. The clone wore a special-built _Katarn-class_ commando armor, with white coloring, and distinct red, bloodlike markings. The clone spotted a small predatory animal crawling along a branch nearby, and took it in his sights. A second later, he pulled the trigger, and the powerful sniper rifle fired out a shot that pierced the animal's entire body, killing it instantly.

"One shot.. one kill..." The clone muttered in a low voice, letting out a quiet chuckle. Another clone, wearing similar armor, but with white and green coloring, then walked over to his crouched down comrade.

"Quit wasting ammo, _07_! We're on a mission." He ordered in a strict voice, thinking that his comrade's killing of animals was a waste of time.

Another clone commando near them let out a quiet hum, leaning over a nearby tree trunk. He was wearing white and yellow colored armor, coupled with a large ordnance pack on his back, and several grenades strapped onto his legs, and waist.

"Oh, let him have some fun, _Fixer_! We're gonna be bored out of our minds later anyway... this ain't a fun mission.." The clone complained, sighing slightly and shaking his head, his arms crossed over his chest. The commando with the professional attitude scoffed slightly, stepping closer to his colleague.

"Wasting ammunition on harmless animals is a pointless exercise, _62_. We're not supposed to use our limited resources however we feel like!" He argued, to which his "brother" let out a slight scoff, and waved his hand off dismissively.

Before anything else could happen, a fourth clone appeared, approaching the other three. The clone was wearing an armor of the same design, being colored white and orange, giving him an unique look, just like with all of his comrades. The clone stopped, looking at his squadmates.

"Alright, cut the chatter all of you. I'm patching in the _advisor_.." He announced, before throwing a small portable hologram emitter on the ground. After a few seconds, the hologram of a clone in plain armor appeared, having his hand on his helmet, as if talking to an earpiece.

"Good to see you made it to Keskin safely, Deltas. I have General Fisto on the line ready to speak with you.." The _clone advisor_ , _CC-01/425_ said, before his holographic image disappeared, and was replaced by the nautolan Jedi Master Kit Fisto.

The clone squad was the elite group of clone commandos known as _Delta Squad_. The four veteran clones were the squad leader _RC-1138_ , nicknamed " _Boss_ ", his second-in-command _RC-1140_ , nicknamed "Fixer", as well as _RC-1262_ , nicknamed " _Scorch_ ", and _RC-1207_ , named " _Sev_ ". The four commandos had undertaken countless of missions during the war, which varied from small reconnaissance, to high risk covert operations.

Boss was the leading officer of the squad, having risen from the rank of sergeant to a lieutenant over the course of the war. He was a professional soldier, a brilliant tactician, and his cool and collected attitude made him the perfect leader of the elite squad. Boss always made sure to complete any assignment he was given, and made sure that his squad was always up to the task.

Fixer was Boss' second-in-command, often taking control of the squad, whenever the commanding officer was unavailable. Fixer was extremely intelligent, and worked as Delta Squad's expert slicer, being skilled in hacking and operating computer technology. Fixer also was trained as a medic, carrying the few essential medical supplies with him wherever the squad went.

Scorch was the squad's ordnance expert, and the weapon's officer. Having been accidentally "spiked" during his creation, the clone trooper had an unusually frantic and hyperactive personality. He was fascinated by explosions, and any ordnance that could achieve that. Despite his odd and rather childish personality, Scorch was skilled soldier, and a strong warrior, earning his place amongst the most elite Mandalorian trained clone commandoes.

Sev was the designated marksman of the Delta Squad, having been trained extensively in sniper warfare. Due to his training as a silent killer, Sev was quite introverted, and was the most quiet member of Delta Squad. He wasn't always quiet, however, as he would often make jokes, most usually dark ones, with his fellow squadmate Scorch. Just like the ordnance expert was fascinated with explosives, Sev was fascinated with plain killing. He took pleasure ending the lives of droids, and any other enemy of the Republic, usually making a taunting remarks after destroying his foes.

Around a year ago, during a mission to the wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, Sev had been captured by the Separatists, and was assumed missing in action for a few months. Before they could get a replacement for him, the Deltas had located their missing brother in a Confederate prison on the planet _Mytus VII_. The rest of Delta Squad had joined in with the _46th Attack Battalion_ in a full-scale invasion on the planet. The battle was won, and Sev was among the thousands of prisoners broken out. The sniper had then rejoined his team, continuing to serve the Republic in the last engagements of the Clone War.

As the commando team gathered around the holographic projector, the nautolan Jedi Master crossed his arms, and let out a quiet hum.

"Greetings, Delta Squad. You've arrived on Keskin to locate Jedi Master Rahm Kota, as well as his personal militia. We were able to pinpoint their location to some extent.. your advisor will upload the estimated coordinates shortly." Master Fisto explained professionally. The four clone commandoes gathered around the hologram, all crouching down on one knee.

"Any further intel on the target, General?" Boss asked, receiving the coordinates from Republic command to his heads-up-display in his helmet.

"Master Kota is an expert guerilla fighter, having fought alongside his militia for years, in conflicts even before the Clone Wars. Expect to not get the jump on them, as they've more than likely fortified their positions. But tell them that the Jedi Council is in dire need of him.. and he will understand." The nautolan Jedi answered, to which Scorch chuckled quietly.

"Ah, this will be easy! Just swoop in, and get the General.. we don't even have to fight anyone." The enthusiastic clone stated, nudging Sev's shoulder, who was knelt down next to him. The quieter clone grunted slightly, shaking his head.

"Damn... I was looking forward to killing something.." He noted quietly, looking down, as he reloaded his sniper rifle. Master Fisto hummed, stroking his chin.

"I advise caution, nonetheless. Remember; Master Kota refused to lead clone armies when the war started. He and his men do _not_ trust your kind.." The Jedi Master then said, to which Boss nodded in acknowledgment.

"Understood, General.. we'll be careful with him. Delta Squad out.." The squad leader replied, after which he closed the transmission with the nautolan Jedi Master. Boss then picked up the hologram emitter, and put it on his waist. As his squadmates stood up, Fixer looked at his commanding officer.

"What are your orders, _38_?" He asked rather eagerly. Boss simply took out his DC-17m blaster, and signaled his squad to follow.

"Come on.. we have a Jedi Master to find." The squad leader simply ordered, beginning to make his way down the hill. Fixer followed him, signaling Sev and Scorch to fall in behind.

"Fall in, Deltas! And stay alert; we're going down to that valley." He ordered, walking behind Boss. Scorch scoffed slightly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Alert? Why?" The clone asked, checking his blaster carbine. Fixer silently looked around, walking down the rocky hill.

"Valley means river, and river means animals come down to drink... so stay alert, Scorch.." The Sergeant answered, as he followed Boss. Scorch simply shrugged his shoulders again, not saying anything after that. Sev quietly chuckled, as he walked at the back of the squad.

"Maybe I'll get to kill more of these critters.." The brooding clone sniper said quietly to himself, caressing his dear sniper rifle in his hands.

The squad then continued to make their way down the hill, to the nearby valley ahead of them. Rahm Kota's coordinates were located several kilometers to the east, and thus the Deltas would have a long trek through the thick jungles of Keskin.

With luck, they'd find the Jedi Master soon, and with no difficulties, so that they could be on their way to their next assignment. Simple search and extraction missions were not something that the highly trained commandoes would usually do, as reconnaissance troops would be more suitable for such tasks. Still, the Deltas never turned down a mission, even if it wasn't exactly to their liking.

 **...**

The Providence-class cruiser Invisible Hand glided slowly through a small nebula, being flanked by a Munificent-class star frigate, and a Recusant-class light destroyer. The support ships were heavily damaged, and the Invisible Hand sported several fresh scars of battle as well. The rest of the fleet accompanying them had been destroyed in the battle against a Republic force at Hoth recently. These three ships were one of the only remaining ships still in use by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, as the war was at its end, and the Separatists were the losing party.

In the _General's Quarters_ inside the capital ship's conning tower, the mirialan Dark Adept Barriss Offee tapped the floor with her foot. She nervously looked around, her hand shaking slightly. Her Sith allies Count Dooku, and Sora Bulq, stood nearby, the elder human Sith Lord holding the young woman's lightsaber hilt.

The mission the group had been on earlier was a disaster for Barriss. Although she had mortally wounded her former Jedi friend, Ahsoka Tano, she had not been able to defeat Anakin Skywalker. Only with Dooku's help, had she stabbed the Jedi Knight in the back. Seeing this as a failure nonetheless, Dooku had not allowed her to finish off Anakin, and had instead made it clear, that Darth Sidious would hear about her incompetence. This had made Barriss nervous and on edge ever since they had returned to the Invisible Hand.

As the young woman fiddled with her hands, looking around, the weequay man near her smirked, as he glanced over at her. Barriss could just tell how smug and happy Bulq was, seeing her squirm.

"Ready to meet your maker, girl? Lord Sidious does not grant failure twice.." He taunted, chuckling quietly. Barriss frowned, squeezing her hands into fists. She wanted so badly to just tear into the weequay. But her fear of her Sith Master stopped her.

"Don't test me, Bulq..." She replied quietly, her voice trembling ever so slightly, signifying how unsure she was about everything at the moment. The weequay man smirked again, being all too content with the situation.

"Silence, both of you. My master will decide what to do with Barriss soon. Until his arrival, stay quiet, or I'll keep the two of you quiet myself.." Count Dooku then chimed in, silencing the two bickering acolytes, as he turned towards them. Barriss' heart jumped to her throat, and her eyes widened.

"Lord Sidious is coming here!?" She exclaimed, feeling like she was going to faint. Darth Sidious was coming to the Invisible Hand, to exact punishment to his latest pupil? Barriss looked around even more nervously, as the human Sith Lord quietly stared at her.

"He's already here, Barriss..." Dooku replied simply, staring at the fearful mirialan, whose expression turned even more frightened.

In that instant, the doors at the far side of the control room opened. Barriss and Bulq turned around, gazing at the overlooking balcony, that was placed near the entrance to the command room. As the mirialan woman's heartbeat fastened, she could see the dark cloaked Sith Lord enter the room, walking to the balcony's railing, being flanked by two Shadow Guards. Darth Sidious simply looked upon his followers, his Sith ally Darth Tyranus walking past Barriss and Bulq, and kneeling down in front of his master.

"My master.." Dooku said, lowering his head, honoring his Sith Master, who smiled slightly, his face being mostly covered by the dark hood he was wearing.

"Rise, my friend. I trust you all have some good news for me?" Lord Sidious asked, as he motioned Dooku to stand up. The elder human man did so, standing straight, and looking up at his Sith Master, who continued to stand at the balcony's railing. Barriss and Bulq silently stood behind Dooku, the mirialan woman biting her lip.

"The Altisian Jedi have been eradicated, my Lord.. every single one of them. Unfortunately, the Republic showed up with a fleet, and so most of our ships were destroyed in the following battle.." Dooku explained, bowing slightly again to Sidious, who didn't answer for a few seconds.

"The fleet is of no concern.. the war has more than less ended already. I hear that young Skywalker was aboard the Peacemaker, when you conducted the attack against the Altisian Jedi.." The Sith Lord replied, after which Barriss' heart skipped a beat again. She began to breathe heavier through her nose, as Dooku nodded.

"Yes... Skywalker was beat, and severely wounded. However, it is possible that the Republic managed to rescue him from the Peacemaker, as we had to leave quickly.." The man explained, to which his Sith Master hummed quietly.

"You did not kill him?" Sidious asked, slight surprise apparent in his voice, although Barriss could almost hear joy in her master's tone as well. Dooku was silent for a moment, before nodding again.

"Yes... I decided to spare his life, after seeing Barriss fail to defeat him in single combat, only managing to stab him in the back, after I intervened.." He answered, which made the young mirialan clench her teeth together, as she could feel Sidious gaze upon her.

"Is this true, Barriss?" The Sith Lord asked, and his mirialan apprentice swallowed audibly, bowing her head.

"Y-yes.. my master..." Barriss answered, her voice trembling. Her Sith Master stayed quiet for a second, before humming quietly.

"Hmm.. while subterfuge and dirty tactics are expected of a successful Sith, I do see Tyranus' point. Barriss.. while you have done an excellent job proving yourself to me, I cannot deny the fact, that you've failed to defeat both Skywalker, and your fellow acolyte Bulq..." Sidious stated, which made his Sith apprentice clench her teeth together again, as tears of sweat began to roll down her forehead.

"Lord Tyranus.. what would you have me do with her?" He then asked Dooku, who fell silent for a moment, thinking about it. Barriss could feel her eye twitching, panic starting to take her over.

"Considering her recent failures, I propose that her apprenticeship is ended right here, right now.. with her death. There is no mercy for failures..." Dooku replied after a moment, his voice calm, and eerily cold. Barriss' eyes widened, as she heard that. The Sith Lord standing up on the balcony stroke his wrinkly chin, smirking slightly.

"Indeed, my friend.." Sidious answered, devilishly smirking. Barriss couldn't believe her ears; she had just been signed her death warrant.

Immediately after that, Barriss took a step back. She had to think quickly for a solution. Noticing her lightsaber hilt was still in Dooku's hands, the young woman instinctively reached out with her hand, and managed to pull the weapon hilt to her with the Force. As soon as the hilt landed in her hand, Barriss activated the lightsaber, and lunged at Dooku, lifting her blade high for a swift strike.

As she was about to slash at the Sith Lord, Dooku swiftly turned around, and activated his own lightsaber. The Count blocked the young woman's attack, initiating a blade lock with her. Dooku simply glared at Barriss, shaking his head slowly.

"Bold, girl.." He said rather nonchalantly. Barriss frowned, and quickly noticed Bulq turning around to see what was going on.

Without thinking, she reached out with her right hand, knowing that Bulq's shoto was on his belt. The short lightsaber hilt flew out of the weequay man's waist, as he was too slow to react. The hilt landed in Barriss' right hand, as she was still holding her own lightsaber in her left hand. Dooku's eyes widened slightly, and he attempted to move, but it was too late.

Barriss activated the short lightsaber, and swiftly stabbed the elder human man in the chest with it. Dooku gasped slightly, his eyes wide as plates. He then glared at Barriss, who was breathing heavily, and holding the lightsaber blade in his chest. Bulq gasped audibly, and grabbed his main lightsaber hilt from his waist.

"Master, no!" The weequay man shouted, as he activated the lightsaber, and lunged at his rival.

Barriss reacted quickly, pulling out the shoto blade from Dooku's chest, and turned at Bulq, who struck his lightsaber at her. The mirialan used both of her lightsabers to block the attack, Bulq relentlessly pushing her back. The two stayed in a blade lock for a few long seconds, until the weequay man was able to break it, and proceeded to use the deadly Vapaad against his opponent.

As the two rivals continued to savagely fight each other, Darth Sidious calmly walked down the stairs to the area, his guardsmen following closely behind. Count Dooku was on his knees, breathing heavily as he grasped at his chest, a smoking wound burning on it, as well as his back. Sidious walked over to his apprentice, silently standing next to him, and looking at the battling acolytes.

Bulq roared in anger, putting all his hatred for Barriss into his flurry of attacks. He managed to cause the young woman to drop the short lightsaber, as she wasn't very skilled in dual wielding combat. Barriss was able to continue to defend herself, the adrenaline and sheer excitement of wounding Dooku bringing her strength. As they continued, Sidious lifted his wrinkly hands, reaching them out to the two battling rivals.

"This ends now!" The Sith Lord announced, before suddenly sending out a barrage of Force lightning at both Barriss and Bulq.

Both of the fighting acolytes got hit by the powerful lightning bolts, ending their battle, as they groaned in pain, their bodies shaking violently from the barrage of harmful energy. Lord Sidious kept on electrocuting the two for several seconds, forcing them to drop their lightsabers to the ground. After a moment, he stopped, allowing the two to drop on their knees, and catch their breath.

After a few seconds, the Dark Lord of the Sith returned to a calm stance, still standing next to the kneeling Count Dooku. Barriss panted heavily, some electricity still running through her body.

"Get up, Barriss.." Sidious then ordered, coldly staring at the downed mirialan, even though his eyes couldn't be seen through the shroud of his hood.

Barriss slowly stood up, letting out a slight moan as she did so, her legs shaking. After that, she looked at her Sith Master, waiting to be killed. She was afraid, more afraid than she had ever been before. Sidious slowly stared at her, before pointing at Dooku.

"Now.. kill him." He said quietly, causing the old human man next to him open his mouth in shock. Barriss' eyes widened, as she stared at her master, raising her eyebrow.

"Master?" Dooku asked in a weak and shocked voice, looking up to Sidious, who didn't look back at him.

"You said it yourself, Tyranus... there can be _no_ mercy.." The Sith Lord answered coldly, his expression not changing at any point. Dooku's face filled with fear, as he simply stared at his treacherous Sith Master in shock.

Barriss bit her lip, her mouth feeling dry. She then slowly picked up her lightsaber hilt from the ground, Bulq groaning in pain next to her. As he started to approach Sidious and the downed Dooku, the weequay man tried to get up.

"No.." He said quietly, reaching out to his master. Sidious ruthlessly shut him up, by barraging him with another short burst of Force lightning. Bulq whimpered in pain, falling back on the floor, as the electricity ran through his body. After a few seconds, the Sith Lord stopped, returning his attention to the approaching mirialan.

Barriss walked over to the two Sith Lords, her heart pounding in her chest. She was still a bit shaky from the lightning attack, her hand slightly shaking. The young woman stopped in front of the downed human man, who looked up at her. Dooku silently stared into her eyes, as she swallowed audibly.

"Do it..." Sidious commanded in a rigid voice, which sent shivers down Barriss' spine.

She had just moments ago acted on a whim, attacking Dooku. She did it to give herself a chance of getting out of this alive, but now she was even more afraid for her safety than before. Seeing just how ruthless and treacherous the Sith were frightened her. The young woman thought back at the words of Darth Maul, how he said that she'd never survive the brutal lifestyle of a Sith. Her fears were getting the better of her, and she had now begun to question herself for the first time since her initial fall to the Dark Side.

Activating the red bladed lightsaber, Barriss lifted the weapon up. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, the crackling sound of the lightsaber calming her. She did not open her eyes as she brought the lightsaber down, relying on her Force attuned instincts to hit the knelt down Sith Lord. The blade struck Dooku right across his throat and neck, cutting a deep wound that nearly beheaded him. Barriss still had her eyes closed, biting her lip, as Dooku quickly fell on the floor, dying instantly.

Exhaling long, the young woman opened her eyes, seeing the dead body of the once great Jedi Master turned Sith Lord on the floor. She took another deep breath, and deactivated her lightsaber, turning to look at Sidious, who simply nodded his head.

"And so.. the tide has turned..." The elder human man said mysteriously, which caused Barriss to raise her eyebrow, as she took a step back. Bulq slowly got up behind her, grunting slightly.

As the weequay man slowly stood up, calling his lightsabers to him with the Force, Lord Sidious smirked slightly, motioning at both Barriss and Bulq.

"Kneel.. both of you." He then ordered, his voice unnaturally low sounding. The two Shadow Guards behind him struck their lightsaber pikes on the floor, the sound echoing in the room.

Barriss swallowed audibly again, quickly glancing at Bulq, who now stood next to her. She had no idea whether they were about to be killed, or what. Reluctantly, the two acolytes knelt in front of the Sith Lord, who had an all too satisfied look on his face. As Barriss and Bulq bowed their heads slightly, Sidious crossed his hands.

"Darth Tyranus is dead. And with his death, the position of a Dark Lord of the Sith is now open.." He announced, after which both Barriss and Bulq looked up, surprise clear on their faces. The young mirialan's heart was pounding again, as she expected that her Sith Master would give that position to her.

"However, as there are two candidates for the position.. I feel like a small competition is in order..." Sidious continued, a devious smile forming on his face. Barriss raised her eyebrow, and she and Bulq glanced at each other.

"It has been over a thousand years, since a _Kaggath_ has taken place. I think that a proper contest like that is an appropriate way to determine which one of you will be Tyranus' successor.." The Sith Lord then said, smirking. Barriss' and Bulq's eyes widened, after which the young woman frowned deeply.

The Kaggath was an ancient Sith rite, that pitted two Sith Lords against each other in a brutal and twisted game, where they both dueled each other, and employed their entire powerbases against one another's to determine, who was the better Sith. The contest always ended in death, whether it was the loser of the Kaggath, or both of the contestants. A draw was a rarity, however, as there had been only one in the history of the competition. This Kaggath between Darths _Qalar_ and _Victun_ ended, when they destroyed the _Imperial Citadel_ on the Sith Empire's capital world of _Dromund Kaas_ during their duel. The _Dark Council_ punished the Dark Lords by executing them both at the end of the Kaggath.

"But master, I'm already your apprentice!" Barriss said in an outrageous voice. Even though she had doubts right now, she still didn't want to give up her position as Darth Sidious' apprentice.

"Indeed.. but did you already forget that I granted your execution a few moments ago? Only because you overcame Lord Tyranus, am I giving you this chance, Barriss. And this is your last chance.. make no mistake of that..." Sidious answered sharply, which made the young woman sigh, and lower her head in defeat. Bulq was silent, biting his lip.

"And you, Bulq.. this is your chance of earning my favor. You conspired against me with Tyranus, don't even begin to think that I didn't know that. If you defeat Barriss in the end, you'll become my new apprentice.." The Sith Lord explained, to which the weequay man silently nodded his head slowly. He was still clearly taken aback by the whole ordeal, but seemed to quickly adapt to the situation.

Barriss bit her lip, still kneeling down next to Bulq. She certainly did not like this, but considering the fact that she was going to be killed just moments ago, the young woman figured that she'd humor the idea, for now at least.

"I expect the two of you to fight for my favor. I want you to show no mercy to each other, and be completely ruthless when the time comes... only the strongest one of you can become the next great Dark Lord of the Sith.." Sidious continued, Barriss finding way too much excitement in his words. The sadistic Sith Lord wanted bloodshed, and lots of it.

"However.. I want you to work together for now. I'll need you both, when the time comes to eradicate the rest of the Jedi from the face of the Galaxy. But during the extinction of their feeble Order, I want you two to compete.. to show me which one of you truly deserves to be feared, and revered as a true master of the Dark Side..." The Sith Lord then said, looking over his apprentice candidates. Barriss and Bulq glanced at each other, disgust clear in their expressions.

"Am I understood?" Sidious asked the two, knowing that they'd have issues working together. Both of them looked up at the Sith Lord, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Of course, my Lord.." Bulq replied, bowing his head. Barriss frowned, knowing that the weequay man was trying to please Sidious. She then swallowed her annoyance, and bowed to the Sith Lord as well.

"Yes, master.." She said to Sidious, who hummed in response, before signaling the two acolytes to stand up. As they stood up, the Sith Lord quickly glanced around.

"This ship will be your mobile command center for the immediate future. Scuttle the rest of the fleet.. only the Invisible Hand shall remain. Once the ship has been repaired, travel to these coordinates.. I will be contacting you both, when the times comes to initiate the Grand Plan.." Sidious explained, handing over Barriss a small data drive. The mirialan woman bit her lip again, and took the data drive.

"Understood, master... we'll await your command." She replied to the old human man, who didn't smile, and simply nodded in response.

"Good.. and make sure that you don't kill each other just yet... I'd hate to miss it.." The Sith Lord stated, after which he slowly turned around, and left the rival acolytes behind.

In the following moments, Sidious left the room, walking up the stairs, and exiting to the hallway beyond the control room, his Shadow Guard following closely behind. After the Sith Lord had left, Barriss and Bulq turned to each other. The two frowned, finding it hard to not just outright attack each other.

"Having second thoughts, girl? I can sense your doubts.." The man immediately started to taunt her, which only angered Barriss further.

"Don't start, Bulq.. Lord Sidious will need us both for a little while longer. But after that, you're dead meat..." She replied, to which the man shook his head.

"You're alive now only because you got the drop on my master... you will not be as lucky with me. So sleep with one eye open, Barriss Offee.. this Kaggath will end with your death..." Bulq threatened, getting close to the woman. The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a few long seconds, feeling so much hatred toward one another.

The weequay man then scoffed quietly, shaking his head again, as he turned away from Barriss, and headed out of the command room as well. As the man walked away, Barriss squeezed her hands. She was battling with herself not to just stab Bulq in the back, as she had done with her former friends Ahsoka, and Anakin.

She calmed herself, however, knowing that she'll never survive, if she won't be able to control her impulses. Even though her impulses and instincts had saved her life just now, she'd need a cooler head in order to win the Kaggath against Bulq. The weequay had decades more experience than her, and he'd be her biggest challenge yet, maybe even bigger than Anakin.

Even though she had been unsure about everything just earlier, Barriss was now more determined than ever to see this all through. She knew that she could never trust Sidious, after what had just happened, but she wanted above all to finally vanquish Bulq, and become a true Dark Lord of the Sith. After that, she'd only need to gain her Sith Master's trust again, before she could stab him in the back as well. The young woman had now finally understood, that in order to be a successful Sith, she'd need to only trust herself, and no one else. She was alone in this Galaxy, and that would have to give her strength now, instead of make her weaker.

Barriss took a deep breath, and calmed down finally. She glanced at the dead body of Count Dooku quickly, before starting to make her way out of the command room as well. As she left, she pressed a few buttons on her personal comlink attached to her wrist, calling up a squad of maintenance droids to take care of the old man's dead body.

There would be no ceremony or burial held for the Sith Lord; his body would instead be disposed into space, or even more unceremoniously thrown into a garbage compactor. That was how most dead Sith bodies were handled, as only the most revered and respected Lords were buried in grand rituals. The brutal and highly competitive nature of the Sith meant that failures would always be ignored, or outright disrespected. And even though Dooku was a great Jedi Master, and a powerful Sith Lord, his failure at defeating a young upstart would be seen as an utter embarrassment forevermore.

 **...**

The boarding ramp of the Stellar Envoy lowered, letting out mechanical noises. Steam erupted out of the small exhaust ports placed on the bottom of the ship, cooling the recently turned off engine and main systems. The Corellian light freighter had landed in an open docking bay on the planet Voss' main capital; the city of _Voss-Ka_ , a few minutes ago. The natives of Voss had allowed the ship to land, as they more than likely thought that the Envoy was just looking to refuel and replenish its supplies.

Asajj Ventress, being backed by Jonash Solo, and his son Han, walked down the ship's boarding ramp. The dathomirian woman looked around, being slightly nervous, as she couldn't see anyone in the immediate vicinity. She knew that the voss were a paranoid people, but she wasn't expecting to be led into an ambush by them for just landing on their planet.

Voss had always been a world shrouded in mystery and darkness, being strongly attuned to the Force. Nearly seven thousand years ago, as the newly formed Sith Order expanded its territories, and explored new star systems, they came across Voss. By that time, the primitive and ferocious natives, the _gormak_ , ruled over the planet in hundreds of tribes, often battling each other.

The Sith saw the gormak as nothing more than beasts, and attempted to subjugate them. Around the same time, a group of Jedi explorers arrived to the planet, having sensed the powerful Force energy pulsating from it. As the Jedi had never encountered Sith before, they had no idea what kind of alien invaders the native gormak were fighting. The Jedi however quickly became determined to help the planet's primitive natives fight off the Sith invasion force.

The war against the Sith didn't go according to plan, however, as the Force using Sith combatants drew power from Voss' natural Dark Side energy, which helped them turn the tide against the gormak. As the natives were being slaughtered in the millions, the group of Jedi grew desperate. In order to save the gormak, the Jedi subjected many of them to powerful, and dangerous rituals. Having been driven desperate by the Sith, the Jedi used Voss' Dark Side energy to transform thousands of gormak into Force using "mystics".

The rituals changed the gormak mystics on such a radical level, that they eventually took a drastically different physical form. Their offspring gradually evolved into a completely new species; the _voss_. Thanks to these rituals, the gormak and the newly born voss drove the Sith off their planet. Most of the Jedi died during the war, and the rest of them decided to stay on Voss, inclined to further research the drastic effects their twisted rituals had on the planet. They too eventually died, and the location and the entire existence of Voss was lost.

In the following thousands of years, the gormak and the voss grew apart from each other, and became increasingly different from one another. The origins of the voss were eventually forgotten as well, by both them and their gormak cousins. This caused the two civilizations to develop in isolation from each other, which eventually led them to fight one another over the control of the planet.

During the Cold War between the Republic and the Sith Empire, Voss was in the middle of a centuries long war between the technologically advanced voss, and the still primitive tribal gormak. The Republic and the Empire both discovered Voss roughly the same time, and spent the years of the Cold War trying to woo the voss into joining their respective factions.

The voss remained neutral however, although they were inadvertently drawn into the many conflicts that followed the Cold War. After all the wars had subsided, Voss eventually joined the recovering Galactic Republic, as the Sith Empire, and the Eternal Empire fell apart. For a few peaceful centuries, the planet and its people were part of the Galactic Senate.

However, as the Republic was drawn into more wars, the people of Voss grew increasingly frustrated. The taxation by the Senate, as well as the Republic's military drafting voss soldiers to war quickly got on their nerves, and after a few centuries, Voss seceded from the Republic, and returned to isolation. To this day however, the planet kept trading lines open to the Republic, also allowing travelers and pilgrims to visit their cities and temples, unless their Mystics deemed the visitors to be a danger to the voss people.

The gormak had long since been thought to be extinct, as the voss had refused to stop their genocidal war against them. Despite the Jedi's and Republic's best efforts to halt the hostilities, and explain to both parties their mutual history, the war continued. In the end, the gormak were wiped out, and the voss became the sole sentient species controlling the planet. However, for years several rumors floated around that a small number of gormak had built a starship, with which they had left Voss behind, and traversed the Galaxy to find a new home.

As Ventress' feet touched down on the landing pad's floor, a door to a building nearby opened. A squad of armed voss soldiers moved in quickly, which caused the dathomirian's heart beat faster. The soldiers positioned themselves in front of Ventress and the Solos, keeping them from making it any deeper to voss territory. The leading officer of the commandoes stepped forward, as Ventress signaled Jonash and Han to stand back.

"Halt, outsiders! What is your business on Voss? Answer quickly, or be turned away!" The man ordered, his voice sounding slightly mechanical, which was normal for the voss. Ventress took a deep breath, seeing the soldiers behind the officer aiming their weapons at them.

"My name is Asajj Ventress. We came here to seek help for our friend.. she was gravely wounded in a battle recently, and will die without proper care.." She said, trying her best to sound sincere and peaceful.

She had gotten so used to demanding stuff from people, and threatening them, that trying to ask for something in a nicer way felt strange to her. The voss officer frowned slightly, looking up and down Ventress' body, noticing her lightsabers.

"Your kind aren't welcome here anymore, Jedi; not after you initiated a war with the Separatists. So, turn back.." The officer replied, crossing his arms. Ventress bit her lip, not intending to back down.

"I'm not a Jedi, but that's irrelevant. Please.. help us! Our friend is barely staying alive as it is.. she needs help!" She pleaded, to which the officer formed a troubled look. One of the soldiers behind him hummed quietly.

" _Dane-sar_ , could she be the pale woman the Mystics foresaw arriving to Voss? The vision told that a pale woman would arrive to our planet, brining with her a wounded horned woman.." The soldier suggested, to which the officer, apparently named Dane-sar, gave him a frowned look. Ventress raised her eyebrows. The Mystics had seen a vision about her and Ahsoka?

"The Interpreters have not yet fully understood that vision, _Jeresh-an_! We can't make assumptions like that.." He said to his subordinate, before turning back to Ventress, who took a step forward.

"Our friend was stabbed with a lightsaber. She will die unless she gets medical attention immediately. I know that voss have powerful healers... and I know that they could save her life. Please.." She pleaded, which made the officer sigh, and stroke his chin. The other soldiers still had their weapons up, waiting for orders. The man then looked at Ventress a moment, before speaking up again.

"You certainly are informed about us, Asajj Ventress. Our healers can take a look at your friend.. but we'll be watching all of you. Cause any trouble, and you'll face our wrath, outsider.." He explained, after which he signaled his men to lower their weapons. Ventress sighed in relief, feeling that things were about to turn for the better.

"However.. should our healers decide to help your friend, you must know that a sacrifice might be required..." The officer then said, which caused Jonash to raise his eyebrow behind Ventress.

"A sacrifice..?" He whispered quietly, looking over at his son, starting to worry about the situation. Ventress bit her lip, and nodded.

"I'll be ready for whatever it takes... just please save her life.." The dathomirian woman replied, wanting nothing more than to see Ahsoka live, however strange it was. Dane-sar then let out a hum, and nodded.

"Very well. My men will grab your friend, and bring her to the _Shrine of Healing_. You three follow me, and keep your hands to yourselves.. are we understood?" He asked, looking between Ventress and the Solos. The woman turned around, glancing at Jonash and Han, who looked quite confused. She gave them a reassuring smile, after which she turned her attention back to Dane-sar.

"Understood perfectly... lead the way." Ventress said politely, although she felt slight annoyance at the voss. The officer then quickly turned to his men, and signaled them to enter the Stellar Envoy.

The squad of voss commandoes put their weapons away, and quickly made their way into the Corellian freighter, so that they could collect Ahsoka's body. Jonash bit his lip, as the voss soldiers walked past him and Han, entering his ship. The pilot clearly was uncomfortable with this entire situation. However, he took his son's hand, and walked behind Ventress, willing to trust her with this.

Dane-sar then motioned the trio to follow him, as he turned around, and began to make his way out of the landing area, and further in to Voss-Ka. Before they could proceed more, the voss man suddenly turned back around, and reached out with his hand.

"Oh, and your lightsabers..." He said, motioning Ventress to hand out her lightsaber hilts. The dathomirian bit her lip, and slowly and slightly grudgingly gave her weapons to the voss man, who took them, and placed them on his belt.

"There can be no violence at the Shrine of Healing, outsider.." The man explained, before turning around again, and making his way to the nearby building. Ventress sighed, and rolled her eyes slightly, as she followed behind the voss officer.

Dane-sar walked out of the landing area, the three outsiders following him. At the same time, the squad of voss commandos sought out Ahsoka's unconscious body inside the Stellar Envoy, to take her to the Shrine of Healing as well.

Ventress was both relieved and worried, knowing that the voss could help them, but was unsure about the cost of their help. She didn't know anything about these "sacrifices", which worried her, but she forced herself to not think about it too much. She had promised to do anything to keep Ahsoka alive, and that is exactly what she was still going to do. No matter what she'd have to give, she'd do it to save the young girl, and give her a chance to have a better life.

 **...**

A quiet sigh escaped the twi'lek Jedi Master Aayla Secura's lips, as she sat down on a chair inside the Venator-class star destroyer _Venture's_ medical ward. Her body was wrapped in several bandages and other medical aids, a grim reminder of the injuries she had received on Tatooine just recently. She and her master Quinlan Vos had survived the whole ordeal with Jabba the Hutt, but both of them had been gravely injured.

As a _2-1B_ surgical droid walked past the Jedi Master, her gaze travelled across the room. Aayla looked at a nearby bacta tank for a few long moments, seeing her kiffar former master floating in the tank of healing liquid. Quinlan's injuries were serious, as he had been near the epicenter of the explosion, that had utterly destroyed Jabba's sail barge, the Khetanna. As the Republic forces had invaded the planet, the two Jedi Masters were evacuated, and brought to the medical ward of the star destroyer.

Aayla's eyes then travelled to the bacta tank next to her master's, which was occupied as well. The twi'lek woman sighed again, as she stared at the floating unconscious body of Anakin Skywalker, whom had been brought aboard the ship a few hours earlier. The human Jedi Knight's injuries were grave as well; having a clear lightsaber stab wound going through his body, as well as his cybernetic arm having been cut off.

The Republic fleet stationed at Tatooine had received a distress call from the Dreadnaught-class cruiser Peacemaker, that was the headquarters of the rogue Jedi faction led by Djinn Altis. Having already taken control of Tatooine, the fleet quickly made its way to Hoth, were the Altisian Jedi had come under attack by a Separatist fleet. The following battle ended in a total Republic victory, with most of the Confederate fleet being wiped out.

However, the Altisian Jedi had all been slaughtered, before the clone forces boarded the Peacemaker. Anakin was the only survivor, and even he was in a near-death state, when the clones found him. The young man had immediately been brought aboard the Venture, and was put inside a bacta tank in order to save his life.

Aayla had stayed beside him and Quinlan for hours now, waiting for the bacta to do its job, and heal the two Jedi's grave wounds. She leaned forward on her chair, crossing her hands, thinking to herself. The 2-1B droid walked up to her, getting the woman's attention.

"They're both stable, ma'am. Master Skywalker's injuries are so grave, that he will need to stay inside the bacta tank for the remainder of the day. But Master Vos should be able to exit in a few hours." The droid explained in its mechanical voice. The twi'lek Jedi sighed yet again, and nodded, leaning back on the chair now.

"Thank you, doctor.. I.. I'd like to remain here, if it's not bothersome to you.." She replied to the droid, which immediately shook its head.

"I understand, ma'am.. I'll be monitoring their condition, and keep you updated." The droid answered, after which it walked to a nearby computer console, doing some work, and keeping an eye on the bacta tank monitors.

As Aayla returned to keeping an eye on her unconscious Jedi colleagues, she could then hear a slight knock against the wall at the doorway. The twi'lek Jedi Master turned to look at the source of the noise, noticing her clone commander subordinate "Bly", leaning against the doorframe. A slight smile appeared on Aayla's face, as she hadn't seen her loyal clone subordinate, since leaving Coruscant.

"Looks like the mission didn't turn out the way you had hoped, General... are you alright?" The Commander asked, as he walked into the room. His commanding Jedi officer sighed, stroking her chin.

"I'm fine, Bly... and you're putting it a little mildly. At the very least we have Anakin with us now... despite him being in that condition.." Aayla replied, looking at Anakin's battered body again. Commander Bly hummed quietly, scratching the back of his neck.

"The mission was a success then, despite the end result, ma'am. Now the important thing for you is to rest, as we return to Coruscant." The clone noted, to which the twi'lek Jedi sighed again, and nodded in agreement.

"Yes... though I'm worried about what has happened with Ahsoka and Ventress.. or how Anakin got injured so badly. There are a lot of unknowns, Bly.. and we need to find them out.." Aayla then said, assuming that Count Dooku was behind the attack against the Altisian Jedi, but couldn't be sure. Bly nodded, smiling at his Jedi officer.

"And we will, General. But for now, you just sit back, and rest... we'll take care of the rest." The clone commander assured, saluting the twi'lek Jedi Master, who smiled, and let out a quiet chuckle.

"Thanks, Bly.." She answered, before returning her attention to the two Jedi floating in bacta tanks. Bly smiled, and turned around, leaving the medical room, and returning to his duties aboard the Venture.

Aayla immersed herself in her thoughts after that, thinking about everything that had happened in the recent past. She was relieved that both Quinlan and Anakin were alive, but her mind was filled with worries about Ahsoka, and what had happened to her, and the Altisian Jedi. She figured that Anakin would be able to tell her, once he'd recover, but she felt increasing worry about what the young Jedi Knight would say.

She felt the aura of the Dark Side apparent in this entire affair, and that bothered her. The future of the Jedi felt so insecure, and threatened at the moment, more so than it had ever before. The Republic didn't feel a safe place for the Jedi anymore, but it felt wrong for the Order to abandon it. They had protected the Republic for thousands upon thousands of years, so just leaving it all behind felt like an impossible feat for many Jedi.

Aayla had always trusted that the Republic was a force for good in the Galaxy, but the recent events had shaken her trust in everything else, except her fellow Jedi. The amount of Dark Side energy apparent everywhere in the Galaxy at the moment wavered every Jedi's resolve.

Sighing again, the twi'lek Jedi Master leaned back on her chair, rubbing her forehead slightly. She just wanted everything to work out, and that things would one day go back to normal, as they had been before the Clone Wars. But to do that, she'd need to be strong, and trust in herself, and her Jedi family. She also hoped that once they'd be back at the Jedi Temple, Anakin could be persuaded to change his mind about leaving the Order. However, as Ahsoka was missing, Aayla felt much more stressed about his possible state of mind.

 **...**

The morning sunrise on the planet Mandalore shined to the outer parts of the domed city of _Sundari_ , which had served as the planet's capital city for a few decades. Statues of thick black smoke rose up from the outer buildings of the city, as well as from the openings that led further into the domed capital. The large star port and shipyard laid quiet, with dozens of damaged or destroyed ships lying around, some of them stacked in piles of scrap metal.

Once filled with lush rainforests and grassy plains, Mandalore was now a decayed wasteland, with most of its native forests dead, and much of its surface covered in sand and salt. This planet was the homeworld of the ancient and famous group of feared warriors; the _Mandalorians_.

Though forgotten by many, the origins of the Mandalorian clans came from the simian natives of Coruscant; the _taung_. The taung ruled over the Coruscant landscape for thousands of years, until they were driven off world by the _zhell_ , who were thought to be the ancestors of the human race on Coruscant. Because of the taung being driven out, Coruscant had long since been considered to be the birthplace of humans, although no one could to this day be sure, just where humanity came from. It was unclear whether the zhell were truly native to the planet, like the taung, or whether they immigrated to Coruscant from somewhere else.

The taung travelled across the Galaxy then, eventually settling on the world that would become to be known as Mandalore. The taung were a strong people of warriors, their entire culture resolving around the art of battle. They quickly however formed several clans on Mandalore, not able to come to common ground about the most menial of things. Many of the taung clans, now calling themselves "Mandalorians", often travelled off world, and made their living as mercenaries. Although they were largely a scattered group, a single taung warrior often rose up the ranks above the others, becoming the de facto leader of all Mandalorians, using the title of _Mand'alor_ , or more commonly known as _Mandalore_.

The news about fearless Mandalorian warriors quickly spread throughout the Galaxy, and got the attention of many species. In time, thousands of outsiders, of all races, came to Mandalore to join the prestigious clans. Though the taung were first wary of the outsiders, in time, they came to accept the humans, and other species as one of their own, if they managed to prove their worth in battle.

After several generations, the taung numbers in the Mandalorian clans greatly diminished, as more and more outsiders joined their ranks, and quickly outnumbered them. In the modern day Galaxy, not a single taung had been seen in centuries. Many believed that as the Mandalorians became a mixed group of several species, the last of the living taung left Mandalore, just as they had left Coruscant so many years earlier, and sought out yet another homeworld deep inside the Unknown Regions. Whatever their fate was, no taungs were known to live today.

As they were a fearless and often ruthless band of warriors, the Mandalorians came to blows with the Republic and the Jedi Order more than a few times during the course of Galactic history. Most of the scuffles the warrior clans had with the Jedi were small in size, skirmishes on backwater colony worlds in the Outer Rim. However, one conflict between the two became a legend; the _Mandalorian Wars_.

After the death of the taung Mandalorian leader, known as _Mandalore the Indomitable_ , another taung took his place, finding the dead leader's war mask, and donning it, assuming the name of _Mandalore the Ultimate_. What many historians didn't know to this day, was that the Sith were behind Mandalore the Ultimate's rise to power. After persuasion by his Sith overlords, the newly crowned Mand'alor set his sights on conquering the greatest prize any Mandalorian could hope for; the Galactic Republic, and its Jedi protectors.

Uniting all the Mandalorian clans under a single banner, reforming the fearsome _Mandalorian Crusaders_ of Mandalore the Indomitable as the _Neo-Crusaders_ , Mandalore the Ultimate waged a long and bloody war against the Republic. Even though they massacred entire populations of small planets, and even waging a genocide on the planet of _Cathar_ , nearly wiping out the entire _cathar_ species, the Jedi were hesitant to join the war alongside the Republic. They could feel the aura of the Dark Side surrounding the Mandalorians, and out of fear for their young disciples' safety, the Jedi Order refused to enter the war.

However, there was one young Jedi Knight, who out of sympathy and compassion for the worlds ravaged by the Mandalorians, as well as frustration at the Jedi Council for refusing aid to the Republic, rallied all the likeminded Jedi into a rogue faction, and led them to war alongside the Republic armies against the Mandalorian invaders. This Jedi would eventually be known for his now legendary name, which served as a powerful rallying cry for the Republic and the rogue Jedi; _Revan_.

Revan took control of the Republic forces, his loyal Jedi allies leading the vast armies against the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders on multiple worlds. The war ravaged the Outer Rim territories for over four years, with the Jedi and the Republic forces slowly pushing the Mandalorians back, after the Crusaders had first harassed the hapless planets for nearly twelve years.

Because of the war's brutality, and the dark energy surrounding the Mandalorians, the exact thing that worried the Jedi Council happened; the Jedi fighting under Revan, called _Revanchists_ , fell closer and closer to the Dark Side of the Force, using more brutal tactics, and showing no mercy to their enemies. Revan himself grew darker as well, ruthlessly bringing the murderous Mandalorians to justice.

The years long conflict finally came to an end on the dark and mysterious world of _Malachor V_ , in the _Malachor_ system. The Sith had historically been in control of the star system, and one of Malachor V's sister planets was the site of an ancient battle between the Jedi and the Sith, which ended when a Force powered superweapon wiped out both of the fighting armies, petrifying them in place.

The Battle of Malachor V ended similarly, with Revan successfully defeating Mandalore the Ultimate, killing him in single combat. The Jedi Supreme Commander of the Republic forces then ordered an experimental superweapon, called the _Mass Shadow Generator_ to be activated. The weapon tore through the planet, destroying it completely, and also wiping out most of the Mandalorian and Republic forces.

After the war, Revan and many of his forces and Jedi colleagues disappeared, the prestigious Jedi Knight having found out that the Mandalorians had been under the influence of the Sith, which made him and his allies travel deep into the unexplored territories of the Galaxy, which the Sith Empire was secretly ruling over. A year later, Revan returned as a powerful Sith Lord himself, now sporting the title of _Darth Revan_ , and wearing the mask of a killed Mandalorian Crusader.

Most of the Jedi who fought alongside Revan travelled with him to the Sith Space, and became Sith as well, following their leader when he waged a war upon the Jedi and the Republic himself only a year later, initially going by the orders of the Sith Emperor Vitiate.

Other Jedi who fought in the Mandalorian Wars went rogue, falling to the Dark Side. Only a handful of them returned to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and faced the consequences of their defiance of the Jedi Council. All of the returning Jedi were banished from the Order, the Council not able to trust them after what they had done during the war.

The most famous of these banished Jedi was one of Revan's closest friends and generals; _Meetra Surik_ , who later became known as the " _Jedi Exile_ ". Ironically, it was Surik's own disciples who eventually rebuilt the entire Order, after it had been nearly eradicated during the _Jedi Civil War_ , and the following genocide of almost all Jedi in the Galaxy, known as the _Jedi Purge_.

The history of Mandalore and the Mandalorians was well known, though much of the details had been lost in time. Most people in the modern Galaxy knew them as remnants of a formerly feared warrior culture, whom were brought to near extinction by the Jedi and the Republic. But the glory days of the Mandalorians had long since passed, and the only ones still clinging to their warrior roots were the _Death Watch_.

The Death Watch were a fanatical group of Mandalorian warriors, who felt that the old days of the Mandalorian Crusaders were a golden age for them, and should be brought back in any way possible. Decades ago, the Death Watch were in a conflict with another sect of Mandalorian warriors, known as the _True Mandalorians_. Both of the groups saw the Jedi and the Republic as their nemeses, but while the True Mandalorians felt that their ancient ways needed reformation, and that constant wars against the Jedi would be a mistake, the Death Watch desired war instead, and chose to commit terrorists attacks against the Republic, and even the True Mandalorians, in order to take control of Mandalore.

After years of conflict, the True Mandalorians were mostly destroyed by the Jedi, rather than the Death Watch. The prime template of the Republic's current clone armies, Jango Fett, was one of the survivors of this conflict, having fought alongside his True Mandalorian brothers and sisters. After the destruction of their rivals, the Death Watch set their sights upon Mandalore, which had for centuries been in control of the pacifist Mandalorian movement, known as the _New Mandalorians_ , being at the time led by Duchess _Satine Kryze_.

Although in control of Mandalore and its people, Satine was not a native mandalorian herself, having come from the planet of _Kalevala_ , located elsewhere in the Mandalore sector. Her status as an off-worlder, as well as her pacifist ways angered many Mandalorians, who still held their warrior legacy in high regard, which helped the Death Watch in reinforcing their ranks after the end of the _Mandalorian Civil War_ against the True Mandalorians.

Despite this, the majority of the people on Mandalore had come to embrace the pacifist movement, that had been in control for nearly seven centuries, after the Republic devastated Mandalore's surface in a war between them and the last traditional Mandalorian warrior clans, who tried to stage yet another crusade against the Jedi. The devastating war was what pushed the Mandalorians to pursue peaceful ways, as their planet was rendered nearly inhospitable.

The capital city of Sundari was built on the deserts left by the Republic orbital bombardments, and it served as effective propaganda for the pacifist government, as they reminded their people about the consequences of war this way. However, today Mandalore was in chaos, and the once beautiful and idyllic domed city of Sundari was now a smoking ruin, filled with anarchy and disorder.

Near the docks, sitting on a large container, was a red haired human female, donned in blue and silver colored Mandalorian armor. Her artistically designed helmet was placed on the container next to her. The woman looked at the sky, seeing a flock of birds fly nearby. On the ground near the container were a group of other Mandalorian soldiers, standing around and talking to each other.

The woman was _Bo-Katan Kryze_ , the sister of the former Duchess Satine, who had died months ago, as Mandalore was plunged into turmoil. Like her sister, Bo-Katan was from Kalevala, and as such was considered to be an "outsider". However, early on in Satine's reign as Mandalore's leader, her younger sister had run off and abandoned her family, joining the Death Watch on Mandalore's moon of _Concordia_. Katan didn't share her late sister's pacifist views, having always been hotheaded and wanting of action, and the boring politics of a pacifist movement didn't appeal to her.

Katan had quickly risen up the ranks of the Death Watch, who were still in the middle of recruiting new soldiers to their cause after the war with the True Mandalorians. She impressed the leader of the group, _Pre Vizsla_ with her skills as a warrior, and she quickly became his most trusted lieutenant. Pre Vizsla had himself become the leader of the Death Watch shortly after his kinsman _Tor Vizsla's_ death, who had led the group during the Mandalorian Civil War. Even though the Death Watch had technically won, they were still almost wiped out as well, just like their True Mandalorian enemies.

For years, Death Watch had committed terroristic attacks against the New Mandalorians, all the while rebuilding their strength, and gaining following, as Pre Vizsla gained the trust of Bo-Katan's sister Satine, masquerading as Concordia's lawful and loyal governor. This way the pacifist government of Mandalore had no idea about the true strength of the Death Watch, and saw them as nothing more than a ragtag group of anarchists.

As the Clone Wars started, against Katan's advise, Vizsla had allied himself with Count Dooku, who promised that the Confederacy would back the Death Watch in their takeover of Mandalore. The Separatist alliance ended up bringing nothing to the Mandalorian group of warriors, as Dooku retracted his support after a short while. Without allies, and their plans foiled by Satine and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Death Watch retreated from Concordia, and settled on a small backwater world to come up with a new plan.

As the war dragged on, they eventually found a new chance of taking over Mandalore, when the former Sith Lord Darth Maul, and his brother Savage Oppress, allied themselves with the Death Watch. With the help of the zabrak brothers, Katan and Vizsla had found more allies with the Black Sun, the Hutt Cartel, and the _Pyke Syndicate_.

After consolidating their forces, the newly found _Shadow Collective_ attacked Mandalore. As the Black Sun, Hutt Cartel and Pyke Syndicate thugs harassed the locals, Death Watch swooped in to seemingly save the day. This ruse helped deface the Duchess, as the people of Mandalore saw her being incompetent for failing to stop the criminals from attacking Sundari. The Death Watch then successfully gained control over the planet, Katan helping the group overthrow her own sister.

After Satine was put in prison, and Vizsla became the leader of the planet, he and Katan turned on Maul and his brother, assuming sole control of Mandalore. The former Sith Lord did not take this betrayal well, as expected, and proceeded to escape the prison he was sent in. Maul then challenged Vizsla to single combat, the winner of which would be then declared the new Mand'alor, and the undisputed leader of the Death Watch.

Duels like these were common in the ancient Mandalorian clans, so Vizsla was obligated to accept the challenge. The former Sith Lord was able to defeat the Death Watch leader in the following fight, and executed him to claim the title of Mand'alor, and take control of the planet, as well as the group.

Bo-Katan and her _Nite Owls_ section of the Death Watch promptly rejected the zabrak's claim of Mandalore, feeling that no outsider could ever lead their homeworld. However, most of the group agreed to follow Maul as their new leader, seeing his claim to the title valid, as he had defeated Pre Vizsla in fair combat. Katan and her Nite Owls clashed against the traitorous Death Watch members, being forced to escape with their lives, as Maul ordered them to be executed.

As another civil war broke out on Mandalore, it caught the eyes of the Jedi, and the Sith. Darth Sidious, Maul's former Sith Master arrived on the planet, as the Mandalorian super commandos aligned with Maul fought against Katan and her supporters. The zabrak brothers were defeated by Sidious, with Savage dying, and Maul being taken prisoner. Without leadership, the super commandos fell into disarray, many of them splitting into different groups, and starting to fight each other.

Immediately after the Battle of Sundari, which ended in a stalemate, the former prime minister of Mandalore, _Almec_ , assumed control of the government. His reign didn't last long, as the scattered groups of former Death Watch members continued their infighting, and ousted Almec and the newly found government. The chaos on Mandalore only increased, as the population fell into anarchy, without a stable governing body.

Katan and her followers had quickly withdrawn from the fighting, and for the last eight months, they had just bided their time, seeing the slow destruction of Sundari unfold around them. Today, the city was mostly abandoned, as the citizens had fled it months ago, when the fighting got worse. The few that still remained within, lived in the ruins of the formerly magnificent buildings, staying hidden from the countless of battles that had been fought in the city.

As the human female kept looking at the sky, rubbing her forehead slightly, she could then hear the sound of a jetpack, approaching her. Turning to look towards the sound, Katan could see two of her followers approach her position from the sky, flying with their jetpacks. She hummed quietly to herself, as she grabbed her helmet, and jumped down from the container. The two Nite Owls, a man and a woman, landed right in front of their leader, who kept her helmet in her hands.

"Anything new, Wren?" She asked the female soldier, named _Serena Wren_. The woman shrugged her shoulders in response.

"It's pretty quiet at the center of the city, Bo. It looks like the men under _Kronos_ have largely scattered.. and we didn't see any super commandoes during our patrol." Wren answered, taking out a small comlink, which then projected the holographic image of Sundari's downtown district. Katan took a look at the hologram, stroking her chin.

"Hmm... we could hit the National Treasury.. I think _Weylin's_ forces were nearly wiped out, when they fought with Kronos a few days ago." She stated, after which Wren put away the comlink, nodding.

Weylin and Kronos were just two of the several "warlords", that had risen up after the collapse of Death Watch. They were essentially Mandalorian gangs, who tried to fight over Mandalore's control. As there were several more of these gangs, their numbers were few. Most of the other warlords had died alongside their groups during the last ten months.

Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls had fought guerilla warfare against the other gangs, sabotaging their efforts, while staying out of the fighting themselves. They had waited months for the gangs to wipe each other out, so that they could afterwards assume de facto control of the planet, and bring some order to the chaotic capital city. Katan herself had asked Obi-Wan Kenobi to get the Republic to intervene, and bring in forces to stabilize Mandalore; a request that the Jedi Master never fulfilled.

"We should dispatch the last of Weylin's troops, and set a foothold in the Treasury building. From there, it'd be easy to move on to the _Royal Palace_." Wren then suggested, to which Katan chuckled, and nodded in agreement, patting the female soldier's shoulder.

"Good thinking, Serena. We'll hit them tonight, from the top of the _Canderous Tower_." She replied, after which her follower nodded her head in acknowledgment, as she and the man next to her turned around, and joined their comrades-in-arms nearby.

As Katan looked at her Nite Owls, who numbered around twenty people at the moment, she could suddenly hear a low, rumbling loud sound coming from way above in the sky. The woman raised her eyebrows, and looked up, her followers doing the same, to see what was making the noise.

Katan's heart skipped a beat, as she could see several massive ships approaching Sundari, moving through the clouds in the sky. There were at least two Venator-class star destroyers, and three larger ships, having a distinct wedge like appearance. Katan had never seen the larger ships before, which only increased her growing worries.

"What is that!?" One of the Nite Owls exclaimed, backing away a few steps. The red haired woman took a deep breath, looking up at the menacing Republic fleet.

"Looks like the Republic are sending in the cavalry after all... just ten months late.." Katan stated, seeing that smaller ships were starting to disembark from the star destroyers. She figured that this was an invasion fleet.

"They don't look like they're here for peace..." Wren noted, her voice sounding extremely worried. The leader of the Nite Owls sighed, and nodded in agreement.

"You're right. I guess they decided to conquer us, rather than bring order.." Katan replied, shaking her head slightly, as she cursed herself for thinking that the Republic would do anything else than come and destroy the Mandalorians.

As LAAT/i gunships began to converge on Sundari, being backed by dozens of starfighters and bombers, the Nite Owls leader put on her helmet, and quickly glanced at the followers.

"Come on! Let's get out of here, before they spot us!" Katan shouted at her followers, who quickly gathered their weapons and supplies. The Nite Owls then all activated their jetpacks, and jumped into the air, quickly steering themselves towards the inner parts of Sundari.

As the group of Mandalorian warriors flew inside the domed city, the Republic invasion force approached Sundari, the dozens of gunships and fighters descending from the sky. The capital ships moved into bombardment positions, keeping guard should any ships attempt to escape the planet.

The Republic had certainly arrived on Mandalore, but not as peacekeepers, but as conquerors. As part of their new aggressive onslaught. The recently finished Imperator-class star destroyers had arrived to test their capabilities on the planet, being commanded by the newly appointed Grand Moff of the Republic Wilhuff Tarkin.

The ambitious Moff was determined to subjugate Mandalore quickly, brining it in to the Republic's fold once and for all. Tarkin knew that a total victory was imminent, as the planet's defenses were all but destroyed, and the population had either fled, or was in hiding from the several Mandalorian gangs.

He was also determined to order his forces to show no mercy to anyone who opposed them. This was to be a new standard in the Republic military. Freedom and democracy would be brought to corrupt and fallen worlds, one way or another. Nothing would stop the Republic from finally taking over the Galaxy, and Tarkin couldn't wait for this to happen.


	14. Chapter 13: The Ritual of Healing

**Chapter 13: The Ritual of Healing**

 **Eleven months earlier...**

The low hum of the internal systems of the Venator-class star destroyer _Steadfast_ filled the darkened personal cabin of Anakin Skywalker with quiet ambient noise. The Steadfast had become the Jedi Knight's new flagship some time ago, after the Resolute had been destroyed during the _Battle of Sullust_.

It was late in the night shipboard time, although in space, no one could tell whether it was actually day or night. Nevertheless, most of the ship's crew had gone to sleep, with only the most essential systems still being operated.

The Steadfast was travelling through hyperspace, heading towards Coruscant. The fleet serving under General Skywalker was just returning from the planet of _Boz Pity_ , where Anakin, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and the 501st Legion had helped Master Quinlan Vos in battling the Separatist forces on the planet's surface, and around the orbit. The battle was won, and Master Vos had stayed on the planet to take care of any Separatist stragglers.

It had been around a month since Anakin and Ahsoka had helped the rebels on Onderon fight back against the Confederate occupation, alongside Obi-Wan and Captain Rex of the 501st. The Republic had quickly sent troops to the liberated planet, at the behest of its new representative in the Galactic Senate; Lux Bonteri. While many of the onderonians viewed the end of the Separatist occupation as a victory, others feared that the Republic sending in military forces to their planet would eventually only result in another occupation.

A quiet groan was heard, as Anakin lifted the blanket on his bed, slowly getting up. The young human man sighed, as he set his feet down on the cold floor, sitting on the side of the standard military issue, yet rather comfy bed. Anakin rubbed his eyes for a second, before burying his face in his hands. After a moment, he stood up, exhaling long. As he stood up, a small hand with light orange skin pigmentation gently grabbed his right wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" A quiet, slightly tired voice of Ahsoka asked, which made the young man turn his head around. A smile appeared on Anakin's face, as he looked at his togruta Padawan and secret lover lie on the bed, the blanket covering her much of her bare body.

"Just gonna go to the bathroom for a moment.. I'll be right back." He answered in a soft voice, quickly caressing the young togruta's hand with his own. Ahsoka smiled, and let go of him, laying her head on the pillow again.

Anakin then headed to the nearby bathroom, walking through the doorway, after sliding the door open. He stepped over to the sink, turning on the faucet, and letting the water run down. Stroking his chin at first, the young man then formed a bowl with his hands, before splashing water across his face. The cool water refreshed him a bit, making him not as tired. He then turned off the faucet, before leaning on the sink, and looking at himself in the mirror.

Anakin bit his lip, taking a deep breath, as he stared at his mirror image. He could see the visible scar on his face, going across his eyebrow and upper side of his eye, down to the upper side of his right cheek. He also noticed another smaller scar, located on his collarbone. The Jedi Knight slowly traced his finger on the scar, humming quietly as he did so. He could always see how the war had taken its toll on him.

Even though Anakin felt like he belonged on the battlefield, he couldn't deny the fact that he had started to question the entire war, and why it even existed. Part of him couldn't wait for it to end, so that he could have some peace finally. But another part of him wasn't sure if he could ever live in a Galaxy, in which there were no war or conflict again, like he had for years earlier.

His thoughts were interrupted, as the door to the bathroom slid open again. Anakin could notice Ahsoka stepping in, standing behind him in a few seconds. The togruta girl was topless, only wearing the lower part of her underwear. Her light orange pigmented skin shined slightly under the bathroom's light. Ahsoka silently wrapped her arms around her human Jedi Master's body, pulling herself against him, resting her forehead on his back.

"I thought I said I'd be right back..?" Anakin said quietly, touching Ahsoka's hands with his own. The togruta girl hummed quietly behind him.

"I can't help myself.. I want to be with you as much as I can." She replied, before pressing her lips against the man's back, giving it a quick and soft kiss. Her master chuckled quietly at that.

"I wasn't going anywhere for the night, Ahsoka.. I'll sleep right next to you.." Anakin answered with a short laugh, to which his lover hugged him tighter.

"I know.. and I couldn't ask for anything more..." She whispered, closing her eyes, and hugging the human man tightly from behind. Anakin smiled wider, and rubbed his thumb against Ahsoka's hands, which were resting on his stomach.

The two of them stayed like that, the young girl hugging her love from behind for a few moments more. Anakin then slowly turned around, and looked down at Ahsoka, who stared into his eyes. The young human silently moved his hand along the togruta's arm, to her shoulder, and finally gently touching her cheek. Ahsoka's lower lip trembled, after which she moved her own hand to touch Anakin's cheek.

"I'm scared, Anakin..." She whispered, her thumb rubbing against Anakin's slightly wet cheek. The human man raised his eyebrow.

"Scared of what?" He asked, pulling the girl just a bit closer against him, feeling the warmth of her bare body against his. Ahsoka looked worried, her lip trembling again, as she looked into his eyes.

"What if... what if the Council finds out about us?" She asked, her voice trembling as well. Anakin's heart skipped a beat. He knew just how seriously the Jedi Council would react, if they'd ever find out about his and Ahsoka's relationship. The thought of that bothered him sometimes too, but he hadn't been afraid of it up until this point.

"I.. well, they won't find out.. we'll make sure of that.." Anakin answered quickly, softly rubbing his hand along Ahsoka's arm. The togruta girl didn't seem convinced.

"But what if that won't work? If they find out... we'll surely be separated, if not banished from the Order altogether. I couldn't handle that... I can't be apart from you, Anakin.. not after all this..." She said, her voice quiet and worried. She looked down slightly, tears forming in her eyes. Anakin hushed her quietly, lifting her chin up, and looking into her icy blue eyes again.

"That won't happen, darling.. I won't let you out of my sight. And even if the Council finds out, they won't separate us. I'll stay with you forever... and that's a promise." He assured, gently holding Ahsoka's chin. The girl sighed long, a slight smile forming on her face.

"You've always succeeded in making me believe... and I want to believe you now too.." Ahsoka replied, her finger tracing along Anakin's face, who smirked slightly.

"Good.. because you should believe me. What we have is more important to me than anything, Ahsoka... I won't give this up that easily.." He assured again, moving his face closer to his love, who let out a quiet giggle.

"Smooth talker.." The girl answered, closing her eyes, as her and Anakin's lips nearly touched.

"I have my moments.." He replied quietly, after which Ahsoka pulled him in for a soft kiss.

The two young lovers kissed each other long, wrapping their arms around each other. Ahsoka let out a quiet, happy sigh, as her hand moved through Anakin's hair. The long kiss ended, with the couple initiating another kiss immediately after. Anakin had his hand travel along Ahsoka's back, and stroke her head, and the montral at the back of her head.

After a few short moments, the two of them separated slightly, still holding each other in one another's arms. Ahsoka smiled, feeling so much happiness, and warmth in her heart. She looked into Anakin's eyes, feeling that she could forever stare at him, for she loved the young man so incredibly much.

"So.. what now?" The Jedi Knight asked, holding his togruta lover close. Ahsoka looked at him for a moment, before biting her lip, and smirking slightly. She then gently grabbed Anakin's right hand, and moved it down to touch her bottom.

"Now, Master Skywalker.. you come and return to bed with me, and give me another ' _lesson_ '.." She replied quietly, breathing a bit heavier. Anakin quickly raised his eyebrow, before smirking as well, and squeezing Ahsoka's bottom with his hand.

"If only you were this initiative, when I'm actually training you.." He answered with a chuckle, as Ahsoka began to lead him out of the bathroom, looking at him with a seductive expression.

"I think we both enjoy this far more than regular training, my handsome master.." She replied, teasing the young man, as she walked backwards towards the bed, pulling Anakin with him, who chuckled again.

"You make a fair point, my beautiful Padawan." The Jedi Knight stated, which made Ahsoka hum quietly, as they got to the bed. The young togruta slightly licked her lip, as she touched Anakin's body.

"Let's make this an unforgettable lesson then, shall we?" She asked, before suddenly wrapping her arms around Anakin's neck, and pulling him down with her, as she fell back on the bed.

Anakin fell on top of Ahsoka, and the togruta girl didn't waste any time, passionately kissing her human lover, sticking her tongue inside his mouth. Anakin let out a chuckling hum, as he returned the kiss, and strongly moved his hand along the togruta's bare side. He moved Ahsoka's right leg up, which she slightly wrapped around his back. Anakin then moved his hand on the girl's thigh, down to her hips. His fingers played around with the straps of her underwear, as the two of them continued to kiss each other.

The couple continued their passionate kissing, both starting to feel intense heat all over their bodies. Ahsoka let out quiet moans every now and then, as she couldn't even describe how good her human lover was making her feel.

As the two of them had their intimate moment go along, the rest of the Venator-class star destroyer's crew continued their normal chores, with most of the crew deep asleep. No one outside the sound insulated cabin knew what was going on inside, and so the crew continued to work as normal. And since it was late at night, no one would even think about disturbing General Skywalker's rest, at least until it was well into the morning, or if there was an emergency. The Steadfast continued to fly through hyperspace towards Coruscant, the journey still having several hours left to it.

 **Present day...**

 _The echoing sounds of lightsabers clashing against each other, the voices of screaming and anguish filled the air. Ahsoka gasped loudly, the red bladed lightsaber of Barriss Offee going through her back. Anakin reached out to his lover, but she seemed so far away._

 _"Ani!" Ahsoka shouted, trying to reach out to him as well, the lightsaber blade still coming out of her upper stomach. Her human love clenched his teeth together, not able to do anything._

Anakin opened his eyes, gasping loudly, as he woke up from his nightmare. The human man swiftly sat up, waking up fully. Slight pain sharply stung his upper stomach, which made him quickly grasp it with his hand. Anakin could then notice that his cut robotic right arm had been replaced with a new one, and that he was donned in a medical robe. The Jedi Knight sighed long, as he touched his chest, noticing that the lightsaber wound he had suffered was mostly gone.

He then looked around, his nose picking up a familiar scent. Anakin quickly recognized his surroundings; he was sitting on a bed, inside the Jedi Temple's medical bay. The young man sighed again, and scratched the back of his head. The scent of the antiseptic, as well as the incense from Alderaan filled his nose, both of which were very familiar to him. He had no idea why the Jedi pumped in slight amounts of incense to the medical bay, but he couldn't deny the fact that it was a pleasant scent.

Before Anakin could move a muscle, he noticed a female Jedi approaching him nearby. The young man bit his lip, as the yellow skin colored female, _Rig Nema_ stepped over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Nema worked as one of the leading doctors in the Temple's medical wing.

"Easy there, Anakin.. lie down." The soft spoken Jedi Master said, gently pushing Anakin to lie down on the bed again. The human Jedi Knight sighed, rubbing his forehead. Master Nema smiled slightly, taking out a small medical scanner.

"Bad dreams?" She asked in a caring manner, being known for her kindness. Anakin himself had always been fond of the doctor, having known her for many years.

"Yeah... just bad memories, doctor. How did I get here?" He asked quietly, his head hurting slightly, as Master Nema proceeded to scan him.

"You were brought here yesterday by Masters Secura and Vos. They found you aboard the Peacemaker." The female Jedi doctor explained. Anakin frowned slightly, having not expected to survive his injuries.

"And it's a good thing that you were found. Your injuries were even worse than mine.." A familiar male voice then said, which made the young Jedi Knight raise his eyebrow. As Anakin looked to his left, he could notice Jedi Master Quinlan Vos lying on the bed next to his. The kiffar man had a small smirk on his face, his body quite visibly roughed and damaged by the burns he suffered on Tatooine.

"Surprised to be here, and seeing us again, are you?" Master Vos asked, sitting up on his bed, as he looked at Anakin, who bit his lip. His mind raced with questions and worries, most of them about Ahsoka.

"I didn't expect anyone to find me, if that's what you're asking.." He answered to the Jedi Master, who simply let out a quiet hum as a response. Master Nema then finished her scanning of Anakin's body, after which she put the device away.

"No apparent side effects from the bacta tank, and your injuries have healed quite nicely. I still recommend you staying in the medical ward for the remainder of today, and that you don't leave the Temple for a little while.." The Jedi doctor stated, giving her patient a reassuring smile, after which she turned away, and returned to her other duties.

Anakin then sighed audibly, rubbing his forehead again. Quinlan turned on his side, looking at his Jedi Knight colleague. The young human raised his eyebrow, and glanced at Master Vos, who had a concerned look on his face.

"Tell me Anakin, what exactly happened? Where's Ahsoka and Ventress?" The kiffar Jedi Master asked, which caused Anakin's heart to jump to his throat. He could remember the sight of his togruta lover being impaled by Barriss' lightsaber; a sight he wished he'd have never seen.

"Ahsoka... she.. she might be dead.. I don't know. I have no idea where she, R2, or Ventress are..." Anakin answered, his voice trembling, and his hands beginning to shake slightly, as he couldn't even bear the thought of the love of his life being dead.

Curiously, he hadn't felt Ahsoka's death at any point, which gave him some hope, that she was still alive. Quinlan's expression changed drastically, his entire face turning sour. The experienced Jedi Master stared at his younger colleague, not quite sure of how to react.

"How.. what happened, Anakin? Was Dooku behind the attack against the Altisian Jedi?" Vos then asked, regaining his composure, even though he was taken aback by Anakin's news. He still remembered what the young man had said to him about Ahsoka, which only increased his worries about the Jedi Knight. Anakin sighed, not wanting to think back at what had happened.

"It was Barriss, Master Vos... Barriss, Dooku and Sora Bulq attacked the Peacemaker with the Separatists. She talked about being a Sith now, as I fought her..." He replied to the kiffar man, whose eyes widened with shock. Quinlan couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"B-Barriss? How could that be!? She was imprisoned after her trial! We would have known if the Separatists broke her out.." The Jedi Master said, scratching his head, trying to figure things out. Anakin simply shrugged his shoulder.

"Does it matter? She stabbed Ahsoka in the back, just like she did with me... Barriss has definitely fallen all the way. But right now, all I care about is finding Ahsoka, and making sure that she's alive.." He answered, to which the kiffar Jedi Master bit his lip.

"Anakin, I understand your worries.. but you have to keep your mind here and now. The Council will want to hear about the attack, and that means you'll have to go before them. Finding out what happened to Ahsoka can come afterwards.." Quinlan stated, knowing full well how much the young man would want to find his lost lover, but also just how damaging it would be for his Jedi career, if the Council were to find out about it.

"I just told you about it. Can't I just leave and go find her, while you inform the Council?" Anakin asked, not even being sure why he didn't just stand up, and leave the entire Jedi Order altogether. Master Vos bit his lip again, sighing audibly.

"Anakin.. I know how much you care about her. You and Ahsoka shared far more than just simple attachment.. and the Council will not be fond of that..." The kiffar man replied, which made the young Jedi Knight frown, and glance at his colleague.

"So, you'll snitch me out on them, right? How about I just take a hike, and leave the Order right now?" He then asked, sitting up and folding his arms. Quinlan clenched his teeth together, sighing as he stood up as well.

"Look.. dark times are upon us, Anakin. We can all sense it. Barriss joining the Sith is dire news, and we need to inform the Council. And just as we've needed you before, we still need you, young one... we cannot defeat the Sith without your help. You help us with this goal.. neither I, or Aayla, will reveal the true nature of your and Ahsoka's relationship to the Council..." The kiffar Jedi Master answered, which only made the young human frown deeper.

"Why would I care, if you tell them or not? I told you, I could just quit and leave the Order.." Anakin replied, his expression showing his annoyance. He wasn't about to abandon his togruta lover. Quinlan sighed long, shaking his head slightly.

"Think of the bigger picture for a moment, Anakin! You honestly think Ahsoka would want you to abandon your duties as a Jedi, in order to be with her? Even if she's not with us anymore, she wants the Sith gone just as much as we do! And you're still the Chosen One.. we need you in this fight!" The kiffar man said louder, though making sure that Master Nema wouldn't hear, as she worked nearby.

Anakin's heart skipped a beat. He could remember how Ahsoka wanted him to stay with the Jedi, and not abandon his duties for her. He had however convinced his young lover, that they could be together, as he'd leave the Jedi Order, like she had months prior. Squeezing his hand into a fist, the young human closed his eyes, and sighed. He knew that the Sith remained his real enemy, despite everything that had happened with him and the Jedi.

"You're right... but it still doesn't change the fact that I have no idea, whether or not Ahsoka's alive.." He then said to the Jedi Master, who frowned slightly, and suddenly reached out to him with his hand.

"Then reach out, Anakin!" Master Vos replied, using the Force to reach out into Anakin's mind. The young human clenched his teeth together, having not expected that.

Anakin's head hurt, as the kiffar Jedi Master forced him to reach out through the Force, in search of his lost lover. The young man took a deep breath, and centered his mind, scouring through the vast infinities of the Force and the universe, trying to look for a sign of Ahsoka. He thought about all the things he had experienced with the young togruta, all the memories he had with her. He thought about her form, her features, and her personality, trying to find her.

After a moment, he could suddenly find something. Through cold and darkness, Anakin could suddenly feel a faint sensation of warmth. He could feel and hear a weak heartbeat, pulsating through the Force. Gasping audibly, Anakin's deep connection was cut, and he and Master Vos both opened their eyes. The young Jedi Knight breathed heavier, staring at the kiffar man.

"I felt her! She... she's alive.." He said, his voice trembling, as he couldn't believe that his lover was alive. Master Vos nodded his head, having sensed Ahsoka too.

"I know.. I could sense her as well. Which means that in order for her, and everyone else you care about to continue living, you'll have to help us defeat the Sith. The war is nearly over, which will be the perfect opportunity for them to strike at us.. so we must be ready, Anakin." The Jedi Master explained, to which his young colleague sighed deeply, and nodded.

"Yeah... you're right. But.. I must find her... I can't abandon her now.." Anakin replied, which was met with Master Vos shaking his head.

"Anakin.. take the fact that she's still alive as a blessing. Time will come for you to look for her later.. with our help. But for now, you need to keep your mind focused on defeating the Sith. I know it's hard.. but you'll be doing a bigger favor for her this way... I promise you that.." Quinlan assured, sounding sincere to the young man, who bit his lip, and looked around, not being quite sure.

The doors to the medical ward opened then, and the twi'lek Jedi Master and Council member Aayla Secura stepped in. The female Jedi had removed the bandages on her body, her injuries having healed for the most part, with only minor bruises and bumps remaining. Aayla walked over to her former master, and glanced at Anakin.

"You two okay? Anakin, if you're feeling up to it, the Council would like to have a word with you.." She explained to Anakin, who stayed silent for a moment. Master Vos hummed quietly, looking at the young man.

"So, what's it going to be, Anakin? Will you stay with us?" He asked the young Jedi Knight, who glanced between the two Masters. Anakin then sighed, lowering his head slightly.

"Will you tell the Council about me and Ahsoka..?" The young man asked in turn, to which Quinlan and Aayla quickly glanced at each other. The twi'lek Jedi then smiled slightly, and looked back at Anakin.

"If you stay with us, Anakin, and help us finish our mission.. we promise that the Council will never hear about your relationship with Ahsoka." Aayla assured with a smile, which made Anakin take a deep breath.

He fell silent, pondering on the Jedi Masters' words. Anakin still wanted to find his togruta lover more than anything, especially now that he knew that she was still alive. However, he couldn't ignore the fact that the Sith had grown more powerful, with Barriss joining them, even if she didn't put up much of a fight against him before. The Sith still were the greatest threat to the Jedi, and the young human man knew that he could never forgive himself, if they achieved victory over his Jedi brothers and sisters, while he sat back and watched. Letting out a sigh, he nodded his head.

"Alright... I'll stay with the Order. But only if you keep your end of the bargain... and once this is done, I will seek her out again, and be with her..." Anakin answered, to which the two Jedi Masters looked at each other again. Master Vos then nodded, seemingly accepting the young man's counteroffer.

"So be it, then." Quinlan replied, a slight smile appearing on his face. After that, Aayla quickly patted her former master's shoulder, as she stepped over to Anakin's bed.

"Good, that's settled then. Now, if you're up to it, would you accompany me to the Council chambers?" She asked in a soft voice, placing her hand on the young human's shoulder, who looked up at her. Anakin inhaled quickly, and nodded in acknowledgment, slowly moving off his bed.

The young Jedi Knight stood up, his feet touching the floor. Anakin could feel slight pain all over his body still, but considering the injuries he had suffered, the young man thought that this was the best he could hope for. He then glanced at Aayla, who gave him another reassuring smile, and a nod.

The two of them then left the medical room, entering the long hallway in the section of the Temple beyond. Master Vos stayed behind, lying down on his bed again, and relaxing in the meanwhile. The Jedi Council would likely want to know what had happened aboard the Peacemaker from Anakin directly, and the young Knight knew that the news would not be to their liking.

However, he was thankful that Aayla and Quinlan had promised not to tell them about his relationship with Ahsoka, or that he had been with her before and during the attack. Anakin thought that the only way for him to eventually reunite with his lost love, would be for him to work with his Jedi family for now, and try to end the wars that ravaged the Republic, and exterminate the Sith Order once and for all.

After that, he expected to be allowed to leave the Order, and pursue a civilian life with the woman he loved more than anything. Despite wanting to bring peace to the Galaxy, right now Anakin wanted above all, to one day lead a happy life with Ahsoka, and start a family with her. In his mind, that would be the only way for him to be truly happy for the rest of his life, and that he'd do anything to reach it.

 **...**

The large darkened hallways echoed, as Ventress walked behind voss commando Dane-Sar, Jonash and Han Solo following her. The group walked along one of the hallways inside the Shrine of Healing; the large temple on Voss, where the powerful Force healers resided in. The huge temple also was the site where the voss Mystics would undergo their trials, before being given the title of "Mystic".

They had arrived to the Shrine of Healing a few minutes ago, along with several more voss commandoes, who had taken Ahsoka's body deep into the temple. The Shrine was located several kilometers away from Voss-Ka, in a forested valley dedicated to the pilgrims as a path, which they'd venture as a rite of passage. Ventress was wary of her surroundings, but she knew that this was the only way for them to save the young togruta's life.

As the group approached a doorway, Ventress could see several voss walking around the temple. She assumed that they were either healers, Mystics, or voss pilgrims, who had travelled to the temple to meditate. The dathomirian woman remembered from her studies at the Jedi Temple, that the voss on rare occasion allowed outsiders to enter the Shrine of Healing, and partake in the _Trials of the Mystic_ , if they deemed the outsiders being worthy of such honor.

After they walked through the doorway, they found themselves in a small room, that led into another one. The room beyond was sealed with an ancient door, which reminded Ventress just how old the temple was. As they approached the door, Dane-Sar turned around, and stopped the trio behind him.

"Only you are allowed to enter, Asajj Ventress... the rest of your group must stay here. The horned woman has been taken to our healers beyond this door, and they will confer with only you.." The voss commando explained, staring at the trio of outsiders before him with a stale expression. Ventress bit her lip, and quickly turned around to look at her companions.

"Stay put.. I'll be back." She assured to the two, with Jonash humming in slight worry, having his arms folded.

"Be careful in there... I still don't like this place.." The human man said, clutching his young son closer to him, as the voss commando nearby gave him a disapproving frown. Ventress smirked slightly, winking her eye at the pilot.

"Don't worry, I'll be back here tormenting you in no time, sugar.." She replied jokingly, which caused Jonash to raise his eyebrows, and his son snicker quietly. That made the dathomirian chuckle, as she turned back around, and laid her eyes on the door in front of her.

Ventress' smile faded quickly, as her heart began to beat faster. Dane-Sar quickly tapped his feet on the floor, after which the ancient door slowly slid open. An eerie silence fell to the room, after the door had opened, and the dathomirian's heart only began to beat faster. She took a deep breath, slowly walking into the room beyond. She was nervous about this entire ordeal, and not just because Ahsoka's life was in peril. She had never been to Voss before, and had no idea what the healing ritual would include.

The dathomirian woman slowly stepped into the dark room in front, the door closing behind her immediately afterwards. A loud echoing thump could be heard, as the door sealed itself, which was followed by eerie silence. Ventress quickly scanned the room with her eyes, seeing dozens of small candles placed all around, which dimly illuminated the dark room. She noticed several hooded voss silently standing at the corners of the room, likely being either healers or Mystics overseeing the ritual.

At the center of the room was an altar, on which Ahsoka's unconscious body laid. The altar was surrounded by more candles, as well as coils which burned aromatic incense. Standing right in front of the altar was another voss donned in a ritualistic robe, a hood covering their face. As Ventress approached the altar, she could notice that the voss was quite a young looking female, with red skin pigmentation.

As soon as the dathomirian walked over to the voss healer, the female looked up, opening her blue colored compound eyes, which had the same strange grid-like texture to them, as with all voss. The healer stared at Ventress, slightly spreading her arms.

"Welcome to the _Altar of Healing_ , initiate. I am called _Tana-Rey_ , and I will be the healer conducting this ritual.." The female voss said in a soft, oddly soothing voice, which had the usual mechanic resonance to it, as with others of her species. Ventress raised her eyebrows.

"Initiate?" She asked, feeling slightly confused, though as her eyes wandered off to Ahsoka's body, she again felt worry. Tana-Rey simply tilted her head slightly.

"That is what we call all the newcomers to our Shrine. But we should hurry... I feel the young initiate's life fading.." The young voss replied, which made Ventress quickly nod her head in agreement.

"Yes! Please.. do what you can for her." She pleader, to which the voss healer smiled slightly, nodding her head as well.

"I'll do my best. But are you ready for the sacrifice, initiate?" Tana-Rey then asked. The dathomirian woman raised her eyebrow again, her eyes looking around nervously.

"What exactly is that.. sacrifice..?" She asked, her heart beginning to beat faster. The young voss healer tilted her head again innocently, looking at Ventress.

"You will need to give some of your life energy to your friend, in order for her to heal.." She explained quite happily, at which the dathomirian's eyes widened. She had to give her own life energy to Ahsoka? Ventress swallowed audibly, before nodding, hoping that she wouldn't have to give _all_ of her life energy to save her friend.

"I.. well.. okay, I'll do it, if it saves her life.." She replied, exhaling long, to which Tana-Rey smiled, and nodded cheerily in acknowledgment.

"Very good. Now, hold still.." The young healer said, closing her eyes, and starting to meditate, as Ventress stood still, nervously looking around.

After that, Tana-Rey moved her arms over her head, clasping her hands together, which made a sound that echoed through the room. The voss Mystics placed around the room then took a few steps forward, before spreading their arms, and beginning to chant in low, deep voices. The chanting sounded like a form of ritualistic song, though Ventress couldn't make out any words.

A few seconds went by, as the voss Mystics continued their ritual chants, and Tana-Rey centered herself in the Force. The young healer took a deep breath, before suddenly reaching out to Ventress with both her hands, as if grabbing her through the Force. The dathomirian woman could only raise her eyebrow for a second, before she could feel gripping pain all over her body.

Ventress could feel all her energy and power being drained out of her, bringing her both pain and exhaustion. Tana-Rey was draining her life force into herself, clenching her teeth together as she used the Force on the dathomirian. Ventress was completely unable to resist, becoming weaker and weaker, as her energy continued to be drained out of her.

As the dathomirian woman fell on her knees, her legs unable to support her anymore, Tana-Rey stopped the draining, and quickly turned around towards Ahsoka's body. The voss healer then released all of Ventress' energy into the young togruta, lifting her body slightly up in the air.

Ventress gasped for air, panting as she sat on the floor, looking up at the altar. Ahsoka's body was in the air, being surrounded by visible Force energy. The healing energy enveloped the young girl's body, before violently launching into her. The dathomirian could see how Tana-Rey fixed Ahsoka's wounds through the Force, the lightsaber stab wound closing itself, and healing. The young girl's bruises disappeared, her roughed skin returning to its soft and clean self.

After a moment, it was over. Tana-Rey exhaled long, and lowered Ahsoka's body back on the altar. The Mystics ended their chanting, bowing their heads slightly. Ventress still breathed heavily, feeling extremely weak, as the young voss healer turned to her again.

"The ritual is complete; her wounds have been healed, and her life energy is returning to her.." Tana-Rey explained, a slight smile on her face. Ventress sighed long in relief, feeling much better now, albeit still weak. She scoffed quietly, not quite able to believe that they had saved her friend's life.

"Great... she's alive then.. and safe..." The dathomirian replied, letting out a weak laugh.

After that, Ventress felt her energy fading again, and she began to feel dizzy. She breathed heavily, her eyes rolling back. The woman then let out a quiet exhale, as she fell on the floor, fainting from exhaustion.

Tana-Rey gasped slightly, as she saw the dathomirian woman faint on the floor. The young healer sighed, and looked around quickly, waving the nearby Mystics to her. The voss made their way to the unconscious Ventress, making sure that she was still alive. One of the Mystics then made their way to the room's door, opening it, and letting Dane-Sar know what had happened.

Tana-Rey in the meanwhile turned towards Ahsoka again, and stepped over to the altar. She gently touched the togruta's head, making sure that her vitals were normal. Confirming that Ahsoka was breathing calmly, and her heartbeat was stable, the young healer then smiled to herself. This had in fact been her first healing ritual, as she had just recently passed her trials, and become a voss healer. She felt relieved that her first ritual had been successful, despite Ventress fainting after sacrificing her life-energy.

Letting out another sigh, she then turned back around, and joined her Mystic colleagues, as they proceeded to move both Ventress', and Ahsoka's bodies out of the room. The two of them would recover in the following hours, hopefully awakening soon.

Even though the voss had saved Ahsoka's life, she, Ventress and the Solos were still outsiders, and were thus treated with caution. The fact that both Ahsoka and Ventress had apparently been part of a recent vision to the Mystics only increased the wariness of the people of Voss, as outsiders hadn't been in their visions for thousands of years.

 **...**

The low humming sound of a starship's inner systems working woke up the young Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam. The human girl groaned quietly, as she opened her eyes, feeling slight pain over her throat. She rubbed her eyes, letting her see better, after which she found herself lying on the cold floor of a jail cell. Looking around, Kriza could see that she was imprisoned aboard the Hapan Battle Dragon star cruiser _Song of War_ , which served as the Queen Mother Ta'a Chume's flagship.

The young woman sighed long, slowly sitting up, as she remembered what had happened earlier. She had failed in her attempt at escaping the ship, and thus the Queen Mother's grasp, when Ta'a Chume had cornered her, and defeated her in a short duel. The Queen had then choked Kriza through the Force to the point that she had lost consciousness, and left her throat sore.

The sounds of footsteps got the young woman's attention then, and she stood up slowly, sighing to herself again. She rubbed the back of her neck, her muscles aching slightly. She could then see the Hapan Queen Mother walk over to her cell, having entered the brig from a nearby door. Her royal guardsmen were right behind her, no doubt determined to protect their queen better than before, as Kriza had been able to stab Ta'a Chume with a dining knife. The young Jedi could see the wound she had inflicted on the Queen Mother's leg was bandaged.

"You're awake, I see.." Ta'a Chume said to Kriza, her hands placed behind her back. The young Jedi Padawan frowned, finding herself the queen's helpless prisoner yet again.

"You want to choke me to the brink of death again.. is that it?" Kriza asked in a bitter voice, which made the Queen Mother sigh, as she shook her head, and rubbed her forehead.

"Please, Kriza.. don't be ridiculous. You know that I did only because you got unruly... a good parent has to discipline her child.." The hapan woman answered, to which her Jedi captive raised her eyebrows.

"Is that how you see me as, or was that just a figure of speech? Furthermore, you really expect me to just stay your prisoner voluntarily?" Kriza asked the Queen, who bit her lip, and sighed.

"You wouldn't have to try to escape, if you'd just join me, Kriza. It's as easy as that.." She replied to the young Jedi, who could only roll her eyes. Kriza was determined not to give in to the Queen Mother's wishes; she'd never abandon her Jedi principles.

"Then I guess I will continue to be nuisance for you, your highness..." The young woman replied, before quickly turning around, and stepping over to the nearby bed inside the cell. As Kriza sat down, a stoic expression on her face, the Queen Mother squeezed her hands, getting slightly irritated.

"You must know that you will never return to the Jedi, my sweet. If you try to escape, I'll always catch you. So you might as well do yourself a favor, and join my cause.." Ta'a Chume said, but the young Jedi Padawan didn't seem to buy it.

"I'll take my chances, my lady. Even if you kill me, I'll have lived a good life, fully committed to the Jedi Order." Kriza answered calmly, her conviction only frustrating the Queen Mother further.

"Such a zealous girl..." The hapan woman said to herself quietly, shaking her head. There was no way of convincing the young girl to leaving the Order.

For the next few seconds, Kriza kept sitting on the cell's bed, folding her arms, as she stared at the Queen Mother, who took a deep breath, and calmed herself. The young Jedi Padawan could sense Ta'a Chume's stress and worries; she knew that things weren't going well for her.

"War not going well for you, your highness?" She asked, which made the Queen Mother raise her eyebrow slightly. The hapan woman then scoffed, placing her hands on her waist.

"I guess you can sense that, even without me telling you. Yes.. the war is not proceeding well..." Ta'a Chume replied, to which her Jedi captive slightly smirked at. She could tell that the Republic was beating back Hapan forces.

"The Republic is starting to breathe down your neck, aren't they? It won't be long before they launch an attack against Onderon.." Kriza noted, smiling slightly. The bulk of the Hapan Royal Fleet had stayed above Onderon, with only small portions defending Tanaab, and the border with the Republic. Ta'a Chume hummed quietly, placing her hands behind her back, as she suddenly began to smirk at Kriza.

"That is exactly right, Kriza. I received word that my forces on Tanaab were routed by Republic attackers. They're making their way to Onderon very quickly, bringing with them a sizable military force. They're clearly hell-bent on retaking this planet..." The hapan woman said, before leaning forward slightly, a devilish smirk forming on her face. Kriza's smile had completely faded, as she bit her lip.

"And when they attack my fleet in the orbit, my powers will render their forces unable to defeat us, and we'll annihilate them completely! Once that happens.. I can launch a fully offensive against the nearby Republic systems.. and from there... Coruscant is next!" The Queen Mother announced in a confident voice, which only made her Jedi captive feel more worried.

Kriza had already assumed that the Hapan offensive against the Republic was over, but now it seemed that the Queen Mother had only found more determination and willpower to defeat her enemies. The Jedi Padawan sighed long, leaning against the cell's wall. She figured that she wouldn't be rescued any time soon, if at all, considering how powerful the Queen could be with her Battle Meditation.

"So sorry to burst your bubble of thinking that you'll get out soon, my dear... you'll stay here for a long while still. And when I've destroyed your precious Republic.. you'll see the error of your ways, and join me. Think about that while you're sitting there.." Ta'a Chume then said, giving Kriza a final cheeky smile, before she turned away from the cell, and headed out of the brig, her guardsmen following.

The young human woman sighed again, burying her face in her hands. After the Queen had left, she laid down on the small and slightly uncomfortable bed. Kriza's confidence in escaping the Hapan clutches had nearly vanished completely now. The sheer determination in the Queen Mother's voice had thrown her off, as she had seen firsthand what her powers could do to entire Republic fleets.

If a massive fleet were to attack Onderon, and the Queen used her powers successfully, it could inflict massive damage to the Republic military. And after such a devastating defeat, the Queen Mother would be free to continue her rampage inside Republic borders, and even launch an attack against Coruscant, and attempt to topple the entire government altogether.

Kriza sighed deeply again, turning on her side, as her thoughts really bothered her. She felt helpless, not being able to escape by her own accord, and not being able to help the Republic forces, who'd sooner or later enter a kill zone above Onderon's skies. Closing her eyes, the young woman tried to rest and gather her strength back. She was certain to never give into Ta'a Chume's desires, and that meant that she'd need to continue fighting against the powerful Queen. And for that, she'd need all her strength back.

 **...**

The small turbolift going up the _High Council Tower_ of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant was silent, with Anakin and Aayla standing next to each other, saying nothing. They were heading up the spire, intending to have an audience with the Jedi Council. The twi'lek Jedi Master quickly glanced over to her human colleague, slightly biting her lip.

"It'll be fine, Anakin. I won't tell the Council about you and Ahsoka.. you have my word..." She assured to him, gently patting his back a few times. Anakin stayed quiet for a few seconds, before sighing.

"I worry about her.. but you and Quinlan made your point. I'll stay with the Jedi, at least until the Sith have been defeated. I just wish that Ahsoka will stay safe in the meanwhile..." He replied, to which the twi'lek woman hummed quietly.

"You know she's strong, Anakin.. she will pull through all of this. After all, she managed well on her own for months before you met her again. Trust me.. it'll be okay." Aayla then said, smiling sweetly at the human Jedi, who bit his lip, and nodded.

"Yeah... hope so.." Anakin answered quietly, not looking back at his Jedi friend, who smiled, and gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.

The elevator then shook quickly, as it reached the top of the High Council Tower. The doors slid open, and Anakin took a deep breath. He hadn't been in front of the Jedi Council for a long while, so he felt a bit nervous. The fact that he'd need to keep his relationship with Ahsoka a secret now more than ever only increased his nervousness.

After the doors had opened, the two Jedi entered the Council Chambers. Immediately after stepping inside, Anakin could see two human Jedi Knights standing in the middle of the small circular room, being surrounded by the seated Jedi Council. He could quickly recognize the two Jedi being Ferus Olin, and Jax Pavan. Anakin raised his eyebrows, not knowing why the two were in a meeting with the Council.

Only a minority of the Council was present, as most of them were still leading clone armies all around the Galaxy. Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, and the _ongree_ Jedi Master _Coleman Kcaj_ were the only ones physically present in the Chambers, with the most of the remaining Council members being present via holographic transmission. Anakin could see that his former master Obi-Wan was not present, physically nor via hologram. As he and Aayla stepped into the room, the Council, as well as the two Knights turned their attention to them.

"Ah, Anakin.. good to see you up. Ferus and Jax here were just giving us a report. Please, join us." Master Windu said in a calm and cold, yet friendly manner.

Anakin and Aayla quickly bowed to the Jedi Masters in the room, which was a traditional custom. The twi'lek Master then quickly walked over to her seat in the Chambers, sitting down on the comfortable chair. Anakin positioned himself next to Ferus and Jax, who were both glancing at him. While Jax had a bright and slightly admiring expression on his face, Ferus was stoic and quite emotionless, most likely still remembering his old rivalry with his fellow Jedi Knight.

"Anakin.." The man said indifferently, as he nodded at Anakin, who frowned slightly, and nodded back.

"Ferus." He said back at his former rival, who didn't respond further. After that, Master Windu crossed his hands, leaning back on his chair.

"So... as Ferus and Jax were telling us, the Separatist Council has been assassinated, by a lightsaber wielding assailant no less.." The Jedi Master said calmly. Anakin raised his eyebrows, having not heard anything about such a thing. The Jedi Knights next to him nodded their heads, Ferus clearing his throat.

"Yes, and Jax and I have determined that the assailant was possibly none other.. than Barriss Offee..." He explained, which sent shivers down Anakin's spine. He was visibly taken aback by that information, which was noted by Master Windu.

"Anakin? What is it?" The wise and calm Jedi Master asked, seeing the young human man stroking his chin.

"It was Barriss... I'm sure of that." He stated, his voice trembling ever so slightly. Everyone in the Council Chambers was now looking at him, both Ferus and Jax having their eyebrows raised.

"How do you figure?" Jax asked with a surprised look on his face. Anakin bit his lip, thinking back at what had happened aboard the Peacemaker, with Barriss and Dooku massacring the Altisian Jedi, and wounding him and Ahsoka.

"Because it was Barriss who also attacked the Altisian Jedi.. with the help of Count Dooku.." He revealed, after which the entire room fell silent for a few long seconds.

The Jedi Masters both present and off-site glanced at each other, Ferus and Jax doing so as well. The Council and the two Jedi Knights had heard about the massacre aboard the Peacemaker from Aayla and Quinlan, but only now could they know the whole story, as Anakin had been there himself.

"Are you absolutely sure about that, Anakin? If Barriss has joined Dooku.. we really must rethink our strategies.." Master Windu noted, starting to stroke his chin. Master Ki-Adi Mundi nodded his head, his holographic body sitting next to the dark skinned human Jedi Master. The cerean Council member was stationed on the planet of Mygeeto at the moment.

"She was safely locked away in prison. The fact that she'd have been broken free without our knowledge would be troubling as well..." Master Mundi said, his hologram flickering slightly, as the connection wasn't perfect. Anakin bit his lip, and placed his hands behind his back.

"I'm sure it was her, masters. It's hard to forget the person who stabbed me in the back with her lightsaber..." He explained to the Council, who all now stared at him. Ferus and Jax glanced at each other, the older man scoffing slightly.

"Well, then Barriss most definitely was behind the attack against the Separatist Council too. Brilliant..." Ferus said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Master Windu sighed quietly to himself, glancing over to Master Yoda's hologram. The Jedi Grand Master was currently on Kashyyyk, fighting droid aggressors with Master Luminara Unduli and her 41st Elite Legion, as well as the local wookiee populace.

"Do you think that Dooku was behind Barriss' release?" He asked, to which the small green skinned Jedi Master hummed, as he was deep in his thoughts.

"Hmm.. shrouded in the Dark Side, is the young Barriss. A great disturbance in the Force, I felt earlier... grave tremors I felt, as in someone powerful passing away. Afraid that this is only the beginning of our problems, I am.." Master Yoda replied in a low voice, his head hanging low. The rest of the councilors seemed troubled as well, as Master Windu sighed again, turning his attention back at the three Jedi Knights at the center of the room.

"Have you told anyone about your findings, Ferus and Jax?" He asked the two Knights next to Anakin, who both shook their heads.

"Republic Command knows that the Separatist Council is gone.. but they have no idea that we're suspecting Barriss to be the perpetrator.." Jax replied, which seemed to calm the experienced Jedi Master slightly.

"Good.. keep it that way. The Senate doesn't need to know about our findings.. especially since Barriss would have had to been released through an inside job. No way that the Separatists could have broken her free without our knowledge.." Master Windu said, glancing at his fellow Council members nearby, who all nodded in agreement.

"And since the Separatist Council is now eliminated, it's starting to seem like a Sith conspiracy more and more.." Master Mundi noted, stroking his white beard. Anakin silently stood still alongside his Jedi Knight colleagues, as Master Windu then glanced at them again.

"Alright. Anakin.. stay here a moment, we still have something to talk about with you. Ferus and Jax, return to the Republic Intelligence headquarters.. but stay in touch; I fear that this will only get worse before it gets better..." The Jedi Master said, to which the two human men nodded their heads in acknowledgment.

"Understood, master. We'll let you know if we learn anything more." Ferus replied, after which he and Jax bowed their heads to the Jedi Council members.

As Anakin folded his arms, glancing at the two Knights, they quietly left the Council Chambers, stepping over to the elevator that would take them back down the tower. After the two had left, and the turbolift doors had closed, the Jedi Council turned their heads towards Anakin once again, who stood silently at the center of the room. A few seconds of complete silence followed, with only the distant muffled sounds of speeders going by the Jedi Temple's premises giving ambiance. Master Windu took a deep breath, swallowing quietly.

"Now then... we have to talk about your little stunt on Muunilinst, Anakin.." He said in a stoic voice, but his expression showing slight displeasure. Anakin sighed, knowing that he was about to be scolded for causing the death of Huon, back when he boarded Grievous' ship.

"What's there to tell? I thought that I could take out General Grievous with Huon.. but it went down differently than I had planned.." The young man replied, biting his lip. The Jedi Council members glanced at each other, and Anakin could only imagine how disappointed they all were with him. Master Plo Koon hummed quietly, his holographic image flickering.

"Your actions resulted in the death of a fellow Jedi, and your escape to Tatooine forced us to send in two Jedi Masters, as well as an invasion force eventually. Such actions are deserving of a trial inside the Chamber of Judgment..." The kel dor Jedi Master said, which caused Anakin to frown deeply.

 _Chamber of Judgment_ was a special chamber inside the Temple, constructed for the sole purpose of the Jedi Council holding trials, in which Jedi were judged for their possible crimes. It was in this chamber, where Anakin's Padawan and lover Ahsoka was expelled from the Jedi Order, back when she was falsely accused for the bombing of the Jedi Temple, as well as the murder of one of the suspects. The young human man folded his arms, staring at the Jedi Masters all around him.

"But..?" He asked, figuring that the kel dor Jedi Council member had more to say.

"But we don't have time for that, as recent developments have shown..." Master Mundi then stated, which was followed by Master Windu nodding in agreement.

"Anakin, the Dark Side has fallen upon the entire Republic, we can all feel it. In order for us Jedi to survive and stay on top of things, we need to keep a close eye on the Senate.." He explained to Anakin, who frowned slightly again.

"You think that the Senate are our enemies? What about the Chancellor?" The young man asked, to which the dark skinned Jedi Master shook his head.

"At this point, we can't be sure about anything. The Supreme Chancellor suggested something to us, while you were still unconscious... and we have seen an opportunity with this." Master Windu explained calmly, looking at Anakin, whose eyes glanced at all the Jedi Masters near him. He felt a little suspicious right now. Master Yoda then hummed quietly, pointing at the empty Council seat of Agen Kolar nearby with his cane.

"Killed in action, Master Kolar recently was. His position on the Council now open is.." The old and wise Jedi Master noted, which made Anakin raise his eyebrows. His heart began to beat slightly faster, as he began to think just what the Council had in mind.

"Chancellor Palpatine asked us to make you his representative on the High Council, in order to maintain close ties to the Jedi, after we've been stripped of our duties from the Grand Army. We've decided to grant him this wish, if you agree to work with us on something important.." Master Windu then continued, to which the young human Jedi Knight bit his lip slightly. He was starting to figure out, just what the Council would want of him.

"And that would be?" He asked, his arms still folded. Master Windu was silent for a moment, quickly glancing at his fellow Council members, before speaking again.

"As I said, we need to keep a closer eye on the Senate, as well as the Chancellor. Whatever darkness is surrounding the Republic, it is centered around the Senate, and Palpatine. We need you to pay close attention to the Chancellor, and report your findings back to us.." The korun human Jedi Master explained to Anakin, whose eyes widened slightly. He frowned, feeling slight outrage at the notion that he'd have to spy on the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

"You want me to spy on the Chancellor? That's capital treason, master!" He said back at the Jedi Master, who frowned in response.

Anakin knew that the Council was aware of his close relationship to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and was most likely wanting to exploit this. For years, the Chancellor had acted as sort of a mentor to the young Jedi, offering him advice, and showing support to him at times when the Jedi did not. To go behind Palpatine's back in such a way sounded preposterous to Anakin.

"This war has taken an unexpected turn, Anakin. You must see that we have to look after the good of the Jedi, and the Republic. Chancellor Palpatine has been in power for far too long, and the war against the Hutts will only increase his power.." Master Windu answered, his mannerism turning slightly sour. Anakin could tell that the Jedi Master was having doubts about him.

"To ensure that he gives up power after the war, a close eye on him we must keep, young Skywalker. The Jedi's loyalty to the Republic above all is, and not to the Chancellor." Master Yoda added, to which the young human man grunted quietly.

"You're still asking me to go behind the Chancellor's back, and undermine our friendship.." Anakin replied quietly, sighing in slight frustration. Master Windu sighed as well, and shook his head quickly.

"The Council is willing to overlook your reckless habits, your friendship with the Chancellor, as well as the serious ramifications of what has happened recently... but only if you work with us, Anakin. You'll be accepted into the High Council as a full member, and we'll grant you the rank of a Jedi Master..." He then stated, which caused the young human Jedi's heart to nearly jump to his throat.

Anakin couldn't believe his ears. The Council was willing to accept him to join them, and even reach the rank of a Jedi Master, if he only agreed to spy on Chancellor Palpatine. He had desired to be made Master for such a long time, that actually having the opportunity at that seemed surreal to him. He felt conflicted, as he wanted to become a Master, and a member of the Jedi Council so badly, but he'd need to betray his friend's, and mentor's trust. As he thought about his options for a few long seconds, his attention was then taken by Aayla speaking up.

"It's the right thing to do, Anakin. Do it for us.. for your family..." She said, a sweet smile on her face. Anakin glanced at the twi'lek Jedi Master, biting his lip.

While he didn't consider any other Jedi to be his family, except for Obi-Wan, Anakin did still hold fond feelings for the Order, which he had been part of for over thirteen years. He took a deep breath, exhaling long afterwards, as he came to a decision. He didn't like the probability of his relationship with Palpatine being undermined, but his thoughts were fixated on Ahsoka at the moment. The young Knight knew, that his togruta lover would want this.

"Alright... I'll do it, masters.." Anakin announced, feeling relieved, but slightly defeated at the same time. The Council members glanced at each other, some of them smiling, others having an indifferent expression. Master Windu nodded, and turned his gaze towards Anakin again.

"Then it is decided. Anakin, go tell the Chancellor about our decision.. we can start the procedure of bestowing the title of Jedi Master upon you after that." He explained, to which the young human Jedi Knight sighed quietly again, after which he gracefully bowed his head.

"Thank you, my masters.." Anakin replied, keeping his head bowed for a few seconds, as the Council looked on. Master Yoda smiled, and nodded his head towards the young man.

"May the Force be with you, young Skywalker." The small sized Jedi Grand Master said, his hologram flickering slightly.

After that, Anakin straightened up his back again, laying one last glance at the Jedi Council. He then turned towards the nearby turbolift, and quickly made his exit, as the Council looked on silently. The doors to the elevator opened, and the young human stepped inside, activating the lift to take him back down to the main levels of the Jedi Temple.

After the doors closed again, and Anakin had left, the Jedi Council members began to glance at each other yet again. Aayla gazed at Master Windu, seeing that the dark skinned human was clearly having second thoughts.

"You don't think that he's up to it, Mace?" She asked her fellow Master, who hummed quietly, and rubbed his bald head.

"Anakin is too close to the Chancellor.. I don't think he can handle this. I don't trust him..." He replied, leaning back on his seat, as Master Plo Koon let out a quiet hum next to him as well.

"Hmm.. I believe that we should still give him this chance, Master Windu. Skywalker can be brought around.. I'm sure of it. Master Kenobi would tend to agree as well, if he was present." The kel dor Jedi Master noted, voicing his support for Anakin. Master Yoda nodded, seemingly agreeing.

"Our only hope of getting close to the dark side of the Senate, young Skywalker is. Trust in him, we must... and trust in us, he then will." The old and wise Master explained, knowing that Anakin didn't completely trust the Council. Master Windu then sighed again, and bit his lip, nodding.

"You're right... but I guess only time will tell. We'll come back to this later.. but for now, this meeting is adjourned..." He announced, leaning back on his seat again, as he glanced at his fellow Council members.

The holographic bodies of the Council members, who were elsewhere all flickered, as the Jedi Masters nodded in acknowledgment. Their holograms then disappeared, their transmissions to the Jedi Temple being shut off. A complete silence fell into the Council Chambers afterwards, as the remaining Jedi Masters either stayed at their seats, or stood up, and proceeded to make their way to the nearby elevator, so that they could get to tend to other duties.

While reluctant, Anakin had agreed to spying on the Supreme Chancellor, in order to try to uncover the dark secrets that were surrounding the Senate, and the Republic leadership. Despite his close relationship to Chancellor Palpatine, Anakin knew that he had to work with the Jedi, if he'd ever have any hope of being reunited with Ahsoka. And as he had found out a long time ago, there was nothing that he wouldn't do for his beloved former Padawan. Even if it cost his friendship with his mentor, it wouldn't be even comparable to the importance of the love Anakin felt for the young togruta, whom he had been separated from again. He'd do anything to get back together with his lover, even if it meant that he was going to burn down some bridges.

 **...**

Muffled sounds and noises filled Asajj Ventress' ears, as she began to regain her consciousness. The dathomirian woman could hear faint familiar noises, which sounded like wind chimes singing in the summer breeze. She groaned quietly, still feeling slightly weak, as she opened her eyes. Ventress could immediately notice that she was lying on a medical bed, inside a small room, which seemed to be the medical wing of the Shrine of Healing on Voss.

As the scent of different fragrances went up her nose, Ventress groaned slightly again, as she slowly began to sit up. She could see her allies Jonash Solo, and his son Han, sitting right beside her bed. As she quickly looked around, the dathomirian could also see Ahsoka's unconscious body, lying on a medical bed next to hers.

Jonash smiled, as he got up from his seat, seeing that Ventress had woken up. He leaned over to her, placing his hand on the woman's shoulder, which caused the slightly confused Ventress to raise her eyebrows.

"You okay? You were out of it for a few hours... Han and I have just been sitting here, waiting.. with all these voss around..." The human man said quietly, before looking behind him. Ventress could then notice several armed voss commandos standing nearby, as well as other voss personnel, who tended to patients in other medical beds in the ward.

"Sorry.. I.. I must have fainted after the ritual. How's Ahsoka..?" She asked, hurriedly turning her attention to the young togruta lying on the bed next to her. Ventress could see the voss healer Tana-Rey standing next to Ahsoka's bed, seemingly keeping an eye on the young girl.

"I think that she's stable, and that she should be waking up soon. But you should ask the voss, if you want to be sure.." Jonash replied, glancing over at Ahsoka as well.

Ventress sighed quietly, nodding her head, her eyes fixated on the togruta. She had worked so hard to save the young girl's life, and it finally seemed to have been done. After a few seconds, her attention was grabbed by the human man again, who hummed quietly, biting his lip.

"I'm seriously getting the creeps out here, Asajj.. this whole planet feels... off.." He whispered to Ventress, who shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I guess you'd feel the same about any planet, that's obsessed the Force.." She responded, to which the human pilot scoffed quietly, smirking slightly.

"I probably would. But, I'm glad you're okay.." Jonash answered, touching Ventress' shoulder again with his hand, which made the woman raise her eyebrow, and roll her eyes.

"Don't even start, Solo.. you and Ahsoka are making me into such a softie.." She noted, letting out a quiet laugh. The dathomirian woman had made a significant change from a cold hearted assassin, shrouded in the Dark Side, to a caring and well-meaning person.

"I think it suits you.. and I'm sure both Ahsoka and Han agree with me." The pilot replied, winking his eye at the woman quickly, which made her smile slightly, and roll her eyes again.

As the two of them looked at each other for a moment, Tana-Rey stepped away from Ahsoka's bed, and walked over to them. The voss healer stood at the end of Ventress' bed, getting her and Jonash' attention.

"Welcome back, initiate. Are you regaining your strength?" She asked in a soft voice. Ventress bit her lip, and sat up completely on the bed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better. I didn't know your healing rituals we're like that.." The dathomirian answered quietly, exhaling long. The voss female in front of her leaned her head to the side slightly.

"They have always been like that. There can be no healing without sacrifice. Sacrifice is what gives the healing power.." Tana-Rey answered, sounding a bit surprised at Ventress' lack of knowledge about voss rituals. The dathomirian woman bit her lip, scoffing quietly.

"Well, I bet the Jedi Healers would disagree with you.." She said under her breath, knowing that the Jedi handled Force healing differently than the voss. They certainly didn't require any "sacrifices" to power up the healing procedure.

"How is she?" Ventress then asked, glancing over at Ahsoka. Tana-Rey quickly looked at the unconscious togruta, before smiling slightly at Ventress.

"Her vitals are stable and improving. She should wake up soon." The voss healer replied, which made the dathomirian woman sigh slightly.

Just after that, Ahsoka let out a quiet moan. Ventress, Tana-Rey, and the Solos all quickly turned their attention to the togruta girl, their eyes widening. Ahsoka's body twitched slightly, as the young girl tried to move, slowly waking up. Ventress immediately jumped off her bed, stepping over to the togruta's bed, even though she still felt a bit weak.

"Ahsoka.." She said quietly, touching the girl's arm, as she groaned a bit. Tana-Rey walked over to the other side of the bed, taking out a small scanner in her hand, and performing a quick scan of Ahsoka's body, making sure that everything was fine.

The young togruta girl slowly opened her icy blue eyes, moving her left hand to her forehead, letting out a quiet groan. Ventress sighed in relief, seeing that the girl was doing better now. Ahsoka blinked her eyes, slowly getting her bearings. She looked around silently, seeing Ventress and the Solos stand beside her. She then looked the other side of the bed, seeing Tana-Rey still scanning her body.

"Ahsoka? Can you hear me?" Ventress asked, placing her hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. The togruta looked back at her, nodding her head slowly. She seemed extremely confused.

"I... yes. Where.. where are we? What happened..?" She asked quietly, looking around again. Ventress sighed, gently squeezing Ahsoka's shoulder with her hand.

"You were stabbed, and nearly died. We brought you here to Voss, and managed to heal you. It's alright now.." The dathomirian woman assured, giving her former rival turned friend a smile. Ahsoka bit her lip, rubbing her forehead.

"I.. I remember the stinging pain I felt, and then everything went dark. Anakin... where is he? Where's my love..?" She then asked, her expression worried, as she glanced at Ventress, who quickly looked at Jonash, who was biting his lower lip.

"He.. attacked the person who stabbed you. We had to escape the Peacemaker, before we could regroup with him. I'm sorry.. but I don't know where he is, or what happened to him.." She replied, to which Ahsoka's eyes widened for a moment, after which the young girl sighed deeply. She closed her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"I... I have to find him. Whoever tried to kill me is bound to be a dangerous person.. I can't let Ani face them alone..." Ahsoka said, as she attempted to move out of the bed. Both Ventress and Tana-Rey grabbed her, urging her to stay lying down.

"Please, Ahsoka.. don't move. We'll find Anakin eventually.. I promise you that. But for now, you need to rest, and gather your strength.." The dathomirian replied, gently pushing Ahsoka back down on the bed, as did Tana-Rey, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes.. save your energy, initiate. You will feel better soon." The voss healer said, giving the togruta girl a reassuring smile. Ahsoka sighed, and did lay down again.

"So where are we..? You said.. Voss?" She asked quietly, rubbing her eyes, as she felt weak still. Ventress bit her lip, nodding her head, and looking around the medical room.

"Yup.. this was the only place we could get to, if we ever wanted to save your life. This voss lady here healed you.. with a little help from me." The woman replied, nudging her head towards Tana-Rey, who smiled, and bowed her head ever so slightly at Ahsoka.

"I only did what I could, and your friend here helped tremendously with her sacrifice. But in any case.. welcome to the Shrine of Healing, initiate. This is our most sacred place of healing, and meditation..." Tana-Rey explained in a calm and soft voice, which caused Ahsoka to raise her eyebrows, and glance at Ventress. She had no idea what "sacrifice" the voss female was talking about, and she quite frankly didn't even want to know.

"Thank you... for helping me. I.. I guess I would have died otherwise." She then said, glancing back at Tana-Rey, who smiled, and gave her an appreciative nod.

Before they could continue, the sudden sounds of approaching footsteps caught everyone's attention. As Ahsoka, Ventress and the Solos looked to the other end of the medical room, they could see several voss commandos approaching. Leading them was Dane-Sar, who had a stern, emotionless look on his face. The voss male and his soldiers swiftly walked over to Ahsoka's bed, nearly pushing Tana-Rey aside, who frowned deeply.

"You, outsider! The Three have requested to have an audience with you, and Asajj Ventress." The voss commando announced in a strong voice. Ventress and Jonash raised their eyebrows in surprise, while Ahsoka felt slightly startled by the less than pleasant looking soldier.

"I... can I ask why..?" The young togruta asked carefully, feeling a bit threatened by the armed alien soldiers. Ventress stood up, and positioned herself slightly in front of Ahsoka, so that the commandoes wouldn't be too close to her. Dane-Sar simply grunted in response.

"The Three have asked to see you. The Three _will_ see you. What they want with you, is their business.." He explained, his eyes gazing between Ahsoka and Ventress. The dathomirian woman scoffed quietly, folding her arms.

The _Three_ were the ruling body of the Voss government. Three highly remarked voss officials, chosen by the people to lead them according to their Mystics' visions. The Three made the most important decisions for their people, basing those decisions entirely upon the interpretations of the visions seen by the Mystics. If they wanted to see Ventress and Ahsoka, it was bound to be for important reasons.

"Okay.. so what exactly should we do? We haven't exactly been here a while, so I don't know who these 'Three' are.." The dathomirian woman remarked, which seemed to annoy the voss commando slightly.

"The Three reside in the _Tower of Prophecy_ , back on Voss-Ka. You will meet them there, in the _Hall of the Mystics_.." Dane-Sar replied swiftly, staring into Ventress' eyes, who hummed quietly, and nodded. Ahsoka sighed, and nodded as well.

"We will do that. Thank you for informing us, sir.." The togruta girl replied politely, still laying on the bed, and feeling slightly weak.

The voss commando mumbled something to himself, as he took out three lightsaber hilts from his belt. Dane-Sar simply shoved the weapon hilts at Ventress, who caught them in midair. The voss man had a sour look on his face, still clearly displeased to have lightsaber wielding outsiders on his planet.

"Do not let us caught you using them around here... you'll be put down before you can even beg for mercy.." He said in a rather cold voice, before he quickly gave a hand signal to his men, and turned around, walking away with them.

As the voss soldiers left the medical room, Ventress turned back towards Ahsoka, rolling her eyes, and shaking her head, as she placed her own lightsabers on her belt. She then handed Ahsoka's lightsaber over to her, the togruta girl placing it on her own waist belt as well.

"What a jerk.. I hope he won't be there..." The dathomirian remarked, as she leaned on the bed. Ahsoka smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"Here's hoping." She simply replied. As she and Ventress shared a smirk with each other, Tana-Rey cleared her throat, catching their attention.

"Since you're both new here, I assume that you don't know where the Tower of Prophecy is. If you wish, I'd be happy to accompany you there." The voss female stated, bowing her head politely. Both Ventress and Ahsoka raised their eyebrows at that.

"I thought that you're needed here, as a healer?" The dathomirian woman asked, placing her hand on her waist. The voss healer smiled, and quickly shook her head.

"I have no immediate responsibilities here.. I was only tasked to heal your friend here, for the time being. If you wouldn't mind me tagging along, I could show you the way to the Tower.." Tana-Rey explained, looking at the two. Ventress let out a quiet hum, as she glanced at Ahsoka, who shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, I've never been here before, so I have no idea where to go..." The togruta replied, to which her former rival smirked, and nodded in agreement. She then glanced back at Tana-Rey.

"Alright... take us to where we need to go then. We'll leave as soon as Ahsoka is able." Ventress then said, which made the voss healer smile, and bow her hooded head again.

"Of course, initiate." Tana-Rey replied politely, which definitely was something the dathomirian wasn't used to. Before she could do anything further, Jonash cleared his throat quite audibly, causing Ventress to raise her eyebrows, and glance at the human man.

"What about me and my son? I doubt that these voss will let us enter that Tower of Prophecy thingy.." He stated, clutching his son closer to him, who was standing right next to him. Ventress stroked her chin for a moment, humming quietly.

"Hmm.. well, I suppose that you two could return to the ship. Or, if the voss are willing, you could tour around Voss-Ka.." She replied to the two humans. Han's eyes seemed to brighten, as Ventress mentioned touring around the city, but his father seemed to have other ideas, sighing.

"We'll get back to the ship then... I really don't want to be around this weird place any longer than I have to. And besides, we'll keep company for that astromech droid of yours." Jonash said, which seemed to upset his son slightly, who looked down at the ground. Ventress smirked slightly, and patted the human pilot on his shoulder.

"Make sure not to hightail it out of here while we're busy, Solo. You know you don't want me coming after you.." She said, winking her eye at the man, who swallowed audibly as a response.

He then took his son's hand, and began to escort him out of the medical room. After only a few steps, Jonash turned around, and walked back to Ventress, Ahsoka and Tana-Rey. He cleared his throat a bit, trying to cover up his blushing.

"Uh.. we'll go with you to the city. I've no idea how to get out of this place..." The man said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. Ahsoka giggled quietly, as she slowly sat up on her bed. Ventress smirked, and rolled her eyes, as she turned back towards her togruta friend.

"Alright.. we'll all go together. Tana-Rey, lead the way.." She said to the voss healer, who smiled and bowed her head again in response.

Tana-Rey then stepped away from Ahsoka's bed, gracefully walking around it, and starting to head out of the room. At the same time, Ventress and Jonash stepped over to Ahsoka, who was slowly moving herself off the medical bed. The two of them helped the togruta land her feet on the floor, as she still felt weak. Jonash took her arm, and wrapped it over around his neck, helping her maintain balance.

The group then proceeded to make their way out of the medical wing of the Shrine of Healing, following the voss healer Tana-Rey out of the ancient and sacred building. They'd take a shuttle back to the city of Voss-Ka in the following moments, which would take some time, as the city was located several kilometers away from the ancient Shrine.

As they walked, Ventress could only think about what the voss leadership had in store for them. She felt both wary, as well as outright scared. Whatever the Three wanted to see them for, worried the dathomirian woman. She had not come this far, just to have these fanatical people execute her and Ahsoka for insulting some sacred law, or something.

Sighing quietly, she kept on walking. Ventress figured that she and Ahsoka had no choice. They'd have to meet the leaders of Voss, and see just what they wanted to talk about. She still remembered hearing about being part of some vision that the Mystics had seen, which only increased her worries. The voss were devoted to their Mystics, and their visions, and if the vision about her and Ahsoka happened to be a negative one, the dathomirian woman didn't even want to think about what could follow.

 **...**

Light rain fell from the grey skies above the jungle planet of Keskin. The ancient Rakatan colony world was nowadays abandoned, overgrown with jungles and filled with wildlife. Along a thickly vegetated path walked a group of four heavily armed clone commandoes; Delta Squad.

The squad had made their way around a large valley for the past few hours, trying to locate Jedi Master Rahm Kota, who was supposed to be on the planet with his personal militia at the moment. The Jedi Council had interest in talking to the reclusive Jedi General, as he was the former master of the Hapan Queen Mother Ta'a Chume, who had wreaked havoc along the borders of the Hapes Cluster for the past weeks.

Wet mud squeezed under the armored boots of Boss, the leader of the commando squad, as he walked at the front of the group. His loyal men followed him closely, all of them scanning the surrounding area with their eyes, their weapons at the ready for anything. Clone commandos were the most highly trained soldiers in the Galaxy, along with ARC troopers, and as such, they were always at the ready for battle.

As they approached the top of a small hill, the clones could notice several small decayed and ruined structures around them. They were Rakatan artificially built structures, badly destroyed and decayed by the thousands of years of seclusion. All around the ruins were thick vegetation, as the jungle had grown over the abandoned buildings eons ago.

"This place gives me the creeps. Why would a Jedi Master be all the way out here? There aren't even any Seppies around.." Scorch wondered out loud, looking around slightly nervous. The team sniper Sev scoffed quietly, as he heard that.

"Jedi do what they please. Thought that you'd know that by now, Scorch.." The gruff clone replied, letting out a quiet chuckle. The squad leader at the front of the group then sighed slightly as a response.

"Make sure to behave once we find this Jedi Master, will you two? Remember that he and his men don't like us clones.." Boss reminded, as he stepped over a branch of a small downed tree.

As the squad arrived to a small clearing in the middle of the ruined structures, the sounds of overflying birds caught their attention. Before they could react further, Boss could suddenly notice several small red beams of light going through the air. The beams collided with his, and his squadmates' armors, which caused the Lieutenant's eyes widen. They were beams from laser sights attached on weapons.

The commando squad couldn't react fast enough, as several armed soldiers suddenly appeared, emerging from the thick foliage, and behind the cover of the ruins. The soldiers were mostly human, though among them were a few non-humans as well, such as a duros male, a _devaronian_ female, and a kel dor male. The soldiers were armed with old Republic surplus special forces rifles, as well as more modern equipment, which were in the use by the Grand Army too. They wore light body armor, many of the soldiers having camouflaged themselves with the planet's foliage.

As the soldiers aimed their weapons at the squad of clones, Boss bit his lip. He figured that the soldiers were part of General Kota's personal militia, as they hadn't shot them full of blaster holes yet. The squad leader lifted his hand up, signaling the rest of Delta Squad to relax, and not aim their blasters at the soldiers around them. After that, one of the militiamen took a few steps forward, a slight frown on his face.

"Fancy seeing such heavily armed clones on a secluded world like this. What is your business here, tank-bred?" The human man asked in a gruff voice, using a derogatory term, that was often associated with anti-clone sentiment. Boss frowned slightly under his helmet. These people clearly didn't want them here.

"We're here to see General Rahm Kota.. the Jedi Council has been seeking him for important reasons. If you'd take us to him, we could get him in contact with High Command, and finish our mission here.." The Delta Squad leader explained, putting down his DS-17m blaster carbine.

The militiamen all raised their eyebrows, and glanced at each other. The human man apparently in charge let out a quiet hum, stroking his bearded chin, as he put away his weapon.

"The Jedi Council, eh? General Kota hasn't been contacted by them in months. What sort of important business do they have with him?" The man asked, placing his blaster rifle on his back. Boss could only shrug his shoulders, as he didn't know the details.

"I've no idea. Our job was to find General Kota, and patch him in to the Jedi Council... nothing more." He answered, to which the human militiaman clenched his teeth together. The man let out a quiet sigh, after which he signaled the rest of the armed soldiers to lower their weapons. The soldiers did so in the following moments.

"Alright then.. we'll take you to our camp. But be mindful, tank-bred... you're in our territory now.." The human man said, almost in a threatening manner. The clones simply nodded in understanding, although they were all frowning behind their helmets. The atmosphere was certainly not friendly.

In the following moments, the armed soldiers began to lead the clone commandoes out of the area, and into another thick jungle. They'd make their way back to the main compound of the militia, where Rahm Kota was hopefully located at as well. Even though they were all on the same side, Kota and his militia held deep distrust towards the clones, and thus felt extremely distasted being around them. Still, as they were all fighting for the Republic, the militiamen didn't outright shoot Delta Squad on sight, even if some of them would have wished to do so.

It remained to be seen however, how the secluded Jedi Master would react to the new about his former Padawan's rampage, as he most likely had been out of the loop about that. The Jedi Council believed that Rahm Kota could be one of the only people able to talk to the Hapan Queen Mother, without being killed outright. For this reason, they'd want him to travel to Onderon as soon as possible, before more lives would be lost in Ta'a Chume's bloody war against the Republic, and her former Jedi brethren.


	15. Chapter 14: The Ancestor

**Chapter 14: The Ancestor**

 **Two years, four months earlier...**

The sunshine from the star Coruscant Prime beamed down through the tall windows of a long hallway inside the Jedi Temple. The temple on Coruscant had been built over four thousand years ago, atop a sacred hill, on which the first Jedi settlements on the planet had been built over a millennia earlier. Although the Jedi presided over dozens of smaller temples and outposts all around the Galaxy, the temple on Coruscant had been their true home for the last three thousand years or so.

The Jedi Temple on Coruscant was not the first temple ever built. The ancient world of Tython, where the Force was originally discovered, was the first home of the ancient Jedi Order, and their predecessors; the Je'daii Order. After leaving Tython for the first time, temples on worlds such as _Ahch-To_ and _Jedha_ emerged, as the early Jedi extended their reach around the Galaxy. One of the most famous ancient temples was the _Great Jedi Library_ on the planet of _Ossus_ , in the Outer Rim. The temple on Ossus, along with most of the planet's settlements were destroyed during the _Great Sith War_ , over four thousand years ago.

The long hallway was fairly quiet, as it was located in one of the residential areas in the Temple. There were over a hundred similar residential sections inside the temple, all having around fifty personal quarters built for the Jedi residents of the academy. All and all, the Jedi Temple could house over half of the Order concurrently.

As a few Jedi walked along the hallway, they were nearly run into by a young Padawan, who sprinted across the halls. The young togruta girl Ahsoka Tano had a wide smile on her face, as she sprinted past the Jedi, and towards the end of the hallway. Not too many meters behind, another Jedi Padawan, a human girl ran after her. As Ahsoka reached the end of the hallway, and the door to a Jedi's personal quarters, the other Padawan reached her, panting slightly.

"Man... you run way faster than I thought.." The human Jedi Padawan, Kriza Willsaam uttered, panting heavily. Her best friend Ahsoka chuckled, as she breathed heavily as well.

"I told you that I'd beat you. Trust me.. I've had plenty of practice during the war. Funnily enough, it seems that running is half the stuff I do with Anakin." She replied with a chuckle, feeling slightly out of breath after the running contest she had just had with her friend. The human girl took a deep breath, swiping a bit of sweat off her forehead.

"I can bet.. most of the time Master Kolar and I just walk around, and do nothing. Or, well.. he says that he's teaching me to be more patient... but I just feel bored most of that time.." Kriza stated, rolling her eyes slightly. Ahsoka laughed, knowing that her friend was like her; brash, reckless and eager to prove her worth to the Jedi.

"I guess I got lucky when I was assigned to Master Skywalker. We certainly have not been bored all this time. Or, well.. most of the time anyway.. I think that he's becoming more responsible now, and actually wants to teach me, rather than just have me tag along on the battlefields." She answered, to which the young human girl smirked, and glanced over at the door next to them.

"Speaking of Master Skywalker; why did you bring us to his quarters?" The girl asked, raising her eyebrow at Ahsoka, who let out a quiet giggle.

"Because I have something for him from Master Kenobi." The young togruta Padawan replied with a smile on her face. Kriza's smirk faded slightly, as her eyes widened.

"So you ran with me across the Temple **all** the way over here, just to now dump me, because you have to meet your master!?" She asked in a louder voice, feeling a bit outraged, although she still smiled slightly. Ahsoka smirked, and shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"Well, at least we got some exercise, Kriza." She pointed out, to which her friend laughed, and shook her head, looking at the togruta in front of her.

"You're such a jerk, Soki!" The human Jedi Padawan said jokingly, pushing her togruta friend in a playful manner. As the two of them laughed together for a moment, Kriza then glanced back at the door, before smirking again, and biting her lip, as she nudged Ahsoka's shoulder.

"So.. how are things between you and Anakin?" She asked, which caused Ahsoka to raise her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" The young togruta asked, folding her arms, to which her human friend chuckled quietly.

"You know what I mean, Soki! He's such a hottie, and you're his Padawan!" Kriza answered, her eyes nearly glimmering as she clearly fantasized about Ahsoka's Jedi Master.

The young togruta girl's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. Ahsoka began to blush ever so slightly, as she knew that she had developed feelings for his master for quite some time now.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Kriza! We're just Master and Padawan.. nothing more." She said to Kriza, who scoffed quietly, and rolled her eyes.

"And is that all you want, Soki? Come on, he's so dreamy! I'd faint if he just smiled at me.." The teenage girl replied, fanning her face with her hand slightly. Ahsoka giggled quietly, wondering what her friend would say, if she told her about sleeping in Anakin's arms, when she and him were stranded on the planet of Anteevy a few weeks ago.

"I think you're forgetting all about the Jedi Code, and what it says about romance, my friend." She said with a chuckle, as she nudged Kriza's arm, who scoffed again.

"Oh please... I can see it in your eyes, that you've looked at him that way as well. Admit it, Soki.. you think he's attractive." The human Padawan answered, winking her eye at the togruta girl, who smirked, and shrugged her shoulders, as she turned towards the door.

"You can think whatever you want, Kriza. But right now, I have to talk with my master.. so bye bye, friendo!" Ahsoka said, waving her hand, as she laughed quietly. Kriza laughed as well, rolling her eyes again, as she took a few steps back.

"I swear, if you don't make any advances with him, perhaps I can try out my luck. I wonder how jealous that would make you." She said, chuckling, as she turned around, and walked away, her togruta friend rolling her eyes as well, as she smiled widely.

As Kriza walked away from her, going along the hallway, Ahsoka stepped over to the door that would lead into Anakin's quarters. Still thinking about her interaction with Kriza just now, the young girl giggled quietly to herself, after which she swiftly knocked on the door. There was no answer, which made Ahsoka's smile fade a bit. She bit her lip, and knocked on the door again.

As no one answered the door again, Ahsoka hummed quietly to herself. She paced around a few steps, thinking about what she should do. Knowing that her master was inside, Ahsoka decided to go in regardless, as she possessed the keycard needed to open the door. She quickly stepped over to the control panel next to the door, and swiped the keycard on it. The panel beeped once, and the locks on the door disengaged. A smile appearing on her face again, the young togruta opened the door, and walked in.

Immediately after stepping inside, and closing the door behind her, Ahsoka could hear the sounds of running water, coming from the bathroom nearby. She figured that her Jedi Master was taking a shower, and couldn't hear her knocking on the door. As she walked further into the small quarters, the young girl took a deep breath, and looked around.

The quarters were fairly small, yet comfy and cozy. Anakin had lived there for most of his years as a Jedi, and had thus decorated his room to feel as much homelike as it could. Ahsoka smiled wider, as she could see small toys of podracers and starships placed on a drawer. The young girl thought that her master was cute, for owning such childish things.

"Snips..? Ahsoka, is that you that just came in?" Anakin's voice called out from the bathroom, the sound of the running water drowning it out a bit. Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat, as she had totally forgotten that her master was able to sense her through the Force.

"Oh! Uh, yes, it's me, master! I just came by to give you something! Master Kenobi asked me to!" She replied loudly, so that her master could hear her every word. A few seconds passed, before Anakin answered.

"Oh, right! Just wait around for a minute, would you? I'll be done in no time!" The human man's voice asked, echoing from the bathroom nearby. Ahsoka bit her lip, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, master!" She yelled back, walking further into her master's quarters.

As Anakin continued to have a shower, Ahsoka looked around his quarters, trying to come up with something to pass the time with. The young togruta clasped her hands together, biting her lip, as she looked around. As she paced around a bit, she came across the doorway to the bathroom. Her eyes widened slightly, as she noticed that the door wasn't completely closed, a small gap apparent, which was like a window inside the bathroom.

Ahsoka took a step back from the doorway, her heart starting to beat faster, as she could hear that the water kept running under the shower. She thought about taking a quick peek into the bathroom, looking through the gap in the doorway. Biting her lip, the young togruta wondered if she should allow her curiosity to get the better of her. She knew that she was attracted to Anakin, but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea for her to try to watch him showering in secret. But then again, she was a young girl, and even though she was a Jedi, she still had the natural enticing thoughts on her head, that any other teenage girl had as well.

Fiddling with her hands, Ahsoka closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She wanted to see Anakin nude, but even the thought of that frightened her as much as it excited her. She sighed, and leaned her back against the wall.

"I'm going to regret this.." She said quietly to herself, before taking another deep breath, and quickly moving herself behind the door to the bathroom, and carefully peeking inside from the small gap.

Ahsoka could quickly locate Anakin, as she looked through the gap. She could see that her master's back was turned towards her, as he let the warm water fall over his nude body. Ahsoka could feel her heart pounding, and her breathing become heavier, as she silently stared at her Jedi Master, her finger slightly in her mouth, on the tip of her lower lip.

The young togruta could only gaze up and down her human master's body, and his highly athletic and attractive physique. Ahsoka felt intense heat forming all around her body, as she bit her lip, getting excited at the sight of Anakin showering. She couldn't even put it to words how much she had become attracted to her own master in the recent weeks. The thought of that frightened her, as she had no idea what she should do about her feelings for Anakin.

Ahsoka kept staring at Anakin, feeling how her entire body started to tingle. She felt an intense urge to touch herself all over, a sensation she had never really felt before. She felt like a high-speed train was going up and down her body, sending all kinds of new feelings to her. She felt heat on her chest, and how her cheeks burned, and began to blush slightly.

As she took another glance through the small gap in the doorway, Ahsoka could see how Anakin suddenly turned around, the front of his body becoming visible to the young togruta. Ahsoka nearly had a heart attack, as her eyes laid on the front of Anakin's nude body, his muscled chest and stomach being visible, as the water ran down them. The young teenage girl bit her lip strongly, her eyes slowly moving down her master's body. As her gaze got to Anakin's private area, Ahsoka blushed heavily, her heart pounding even harder now.

She quickly moved away from the gap, leaning her back against the door. The togruta girl breathed heavily, feeling so strangely good and excited. She licked her lips slightly, as she closed her eyes, images of Anakin's wet and attractive body so clear in her mind. Ahsoka bit her lip again, as the thoughts in her head became more intense.

She began to fantasize about being in the shower with Anakin, feeling his bare body against hers, and letting the water pour over them. She imagined her master holding her tightly under the shower, and kissing her passionately. Thinking about this made the young togruta feel so incredibly good, it felt like ecstasy. She wanted it so badly, which made her want to just rip her clothes off, open the bathroom door, and run up to Anakin, and just throw herself in his arms.

As her fantasy continued, Ahsoka felt herself getting even more excited. She slowly moved her hand along her body, feeling the heat on her skin. She began to breathe heavier, as she moved her hand down to her thigh, her eyes still closed, as she was deeply focused in her daydreaming. The young togruta let out a long exhale, and a quiet moan, as her hand then moved more inward, down between her legs. She bit her lip harder, loving the feeling she had all over her body.

Ahsoka was so deeply focused in her fantasies, that she didn't hear Anakin turning off the shower in the background. For the next few moments, she continued to daydream about her master, while slightly touching herself. It was only when her Jedi Master was an inch away from the door, that she sensed him through the Force.

Her eyes blew wide open, and she gasped, nearly jumping away from the door, as it slid open. She quickly turned towards Anakin, who stood at the doorway, a towel around his lower body, and another over his shoulders. The human man had his eyebrows raised, as he looked at his Jedi Padawan, who was breathing heavily, sweating, and looking almost frightened.

"Woah.. you okay, Snips? You're looking troubled.." He asked, seemingly slightly worried, as he used the towel around his shoulders to dry out his brown hair. Ahsoka had her mouth open, her lower lip trembling.

She was terrified, feeling so sure that Anakin was on to her, knowing what she was doing behind the door. She began to fiddle with her hands, not finding the right words to say. Her eyes were distracted by her master's freshly showered body, wrapped in towels. Ahsoka bit her lip, as she looked at Anakin silently, her mouth still open. Her master raised his eyebrow again, an amused smile forming on his face.

"What? Am I that distracting, Snips? My eyes are over here, you know?" The human man asked jokingly, letting out a quiet chuckle, as he winked his eye at Ahsoka, whose expression only turned even more embarrassed. The young girl's face turned red, as she blushed heavily, fiddling with her hands.

"Yes.. I mean NO! I.. I didn't mean... I was just waiting for you.." She answered nervously, not able to look into her master's eyes, who smirked slightly, and placed his hand on his waist.

"Uh-huh. Seriously, Ahsoka.. tell me, what's bothering you? I can sense how distracted you are.." Anakin said, a friendly smile on his face. His young Padawan clenched her teeth together, wiping off some sweat from her forehead.

"I... I'm fine, master.. really. Don't worry, it's nothing. Just... a bit distracted by the current events.." Ahsoka explained, knowing that she was lying, and hoped that her master wouldn't figure it out. The young human man looked at her for a moment, before smiling, and letting out a hum.

"Okay, if you're sure. So.. what was it, that Obi-Wan wanted you to give me?" He then asked, to which his young Padawan's eyes widened again.

"Oh! Right.. sorry, master. Here you go! I think it details our next objectives." She replied, taking out a small holodisc from her pocket, and handing it over to her half-naked master.

As Anakin took the disc to his hands, Ahsoka bit her lip again, and slightly turned her heel on the floor, not knowing what to do. Her Jedi Master then chuckled again, and gently touched the togruta girl's shoulder.

"Relax, Snips, okay? Thanks for bringing me this.. I'll go over it in a moment. Why don't you take a break for a few hours? I'll come find you, once I'm done." He said softly, smiling at his Padawan, who looked up to his eyes, and bit her lip yet again. She loved looking into Anakin's eyes so much.

"I... well.." Ahsoka stuttered quietly, which made her master smirk slightly again.

"Or, did you want to see me get dressed? Is that it?" Anakin asked with a chuckle, which caused his young Padawan's eyes to widen again, and her mouth open wide. Ahsoka began to blush again, as she looked around nervously.

"No! I mean.. no.. it's okay.. I should be going now! See you, master!" She said very quickly, nervousness apparent in her voice. As Ahsoka quickly turned around, and headed out of the room, her master chuckled, shaking his head, and smiling widely.

As Anakin stayed in his quarters, setting down the holodisc on his desk, and continuing to dry himself up, his apprentice swiftly made her way out of the quarters, and stepped through the door to the hallway outside. As soon as she had exited, Ahsoka closed the door to Anakin's room, and leaned on the wall next to it, taking a deep breath.

She closed her eyes, and exhaled long, her heart still beating fast in her chest. She felt both relieved, and extremely embarrassed about what had just happened. To her fortune, Anakin didn't seem to suspect her of anything, leaving her watching him shower a secret, which made her feel relieved. However, the fact that she even did it, and allowed herself to fantasize about her master so vividly worried the young girl.

Ahsoka knew that she was extremely attracted to her master, and had strong feelings for him, which only made her even more stressed. She knew exactly what the Jedi Code said about romance and love, and she also knew what the Council would do, if they found out, that she had in fact fantasized about her Jedi Master, and even touched herself while doing it. Not to mention fueling her fantasies by spying on her master, and watching him shower.

Sighing long, the young girl bit her lip. She knew that she had to try to hide her feelings, and not give in to them. Her life with the Jedi was all that she knew, and she couldn't lose that, especially not because of her romantic feelings for her master. But on the other hand, she also desired that young human man so incredibly much, that she didn't care about her future with the Jedi as much anymore. The difficulty of the situation only distressed her more, as she had no idea what she should do.

Taking a deep breath, Ahsoka straightened up, and began to walk down the hallway. Her thoughts about Anakin, and what had just happened didn't go away, no matter how hard she tried. The young girl decided to make her way to one of the numerous meditation chambers in the Jedi Temple, wanting to clear her mind of all that had happened in the past moments. She needed to calm herself, and just try to make sense of her situation. All she knew for certain right now, was that she desired her Jedi Master both mentally and physically.

 **Present day...**

Anakin sighed quietly to himself, as he walked along the hallway inside the _Republic Executive Building_ , heading towards Chancellor Palpatine's office. The red carpet lining on the floor and walls gave the office a warm, yet slightly ominous touch. The young Jedi Knight had arrived to the Chancellor's office in order to tell him about the Jedi Council accepting his proposal of placing Anakin on the Council, and giving him the title of a Jedi Master.

The young human man felt distracted, his mind constantly thinking about his lost lover, Ahsoka. He couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of the woman he loved being in danger. But the fact that she was still alive, despite the damage Barriss had inflicted upon her, brought him at least some solace. He just had to keep going, for her, and for himself, the human Jedi Knight thought.

Anakin let out another quiet sigh, as he arrived to the doors, that would lead to the waiting area, from where the Chancellor's office would be next. As the doors slid open, he could notice four of Palpatine's Red Guard standing around the waiting room, guarding it. The young man could also see two visitors near the doors to the actual office. He raised his eyebrows, as he recognized a golden 3PO-series protocol droid, standing next to a human man with an eye patch covering his left eye. The two noticed the Jedi Knight approaching them, the protocol droid jumping slightly in surprise.

"Oh my! Master Anakin! What an absolute pleasure it is to see you once again!" The droid, _C-3PO_ said cheerfully, taking a few steps towards his maker, who smiled slightly at the droid he once rebuilt from near scratch.

"Hey there, _Threepio_." Anakin replied to the droid, using the nickname he had given him years ago. The tall human man next to Threepio stood in attention, respectfully bowing his head slightly to the Jedi Knight.

"Good to see you safe and sound, Master Skywalker. I heard that you were imprisoned by Jabba the Hutt.. glad to see that you got out of it alive." The man, named _Gregar Typho_ said, to which Anakin quickly nodded his head with a faint smile. Typho was the personal bodyguard of his longtime friend, Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo.

"Yeah... it was a complicated ordeal, to say the least. Is Padmé in there with the Chancellor..?" He asked Typho, nodding his head at the doors to Palpatine's office. The human personal guard smiled, and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Senator Amidala had some business with the Chancellor, regarding the mining moons of Naboo. I'm sure they'll be done shortly.." Typho explained, standing tall and in attention, like the professional soldier he was.

Right after that, the doors to the Chancellor's office slid open, revealing the always elegantly clothed, and beautifully made-up senator Padmé Amidala, walking through the doorway. The fairly young, yet really experienced senator, and the former Queen of Naboo, smiled as she glanced at her personal bodyguard, and droid servant, whom was given to her by Anakin as a gift. Her smile faded, as she noticed her dear friend standing next to Typho and Threepio.

"Anakin!" Padmé said loudly, her voice both surprised, and overjoyed.

She smiled widely, as she quickly walked up to her friend, and pulled him in for a tight hug. Anakin smiled as well, hugging the senator back. He hadn't seen the human female for several months, and he couldn't deny that he had missed his old friend.

"Well, you certainly seem happy to see me." The young Jedi Knight noted with a laugh, which was brushed off by his friend, who scoffed, and shook her head, still hugging him.

"Are you kidding? I haven't seen you in months, Ani.. and on top of that, you were stranded on Tatooine, and at the mercy of the Hutts. So of course I'm happy to see you!" Padmé replied, parting with the young man, still smiling widely. Anakin smirked, and shrugged his shoulders. The thoughts about Ahsoka were getting on his mind again, but he tried his best not to seem distracted.

"It all worked out in the end, yeah. I'm glad to see you too, Padmé.." He answered, gently touching the woman's shoulder, giving her a friendly smile. Padmé chuckled quietly, and gave Anakin's cheek a slight pat with her hand.

"You're here to see the Supreme Chancellor, are you? You've just gotten back, and the Jedi Council already puts you to work.." She said with a chuckle, shaking her head with a smile. Her old friend shrugged his shoulders again.

"Well, it's for a good cause this time, believe it or not. The Council wants to make me a Jedi Master.. and I'm to serve as the Chancellor's representative." Anakin explained, which made Padmé's eyes widen.

"Oh my.. a Jedi Master? My, that's an incredible honor... you must me so proud of yourself, Ani." She said, giving her friend another quick hug. Anakin rubbed the back of his neck, not exactly knowing if he was too excited about the whole assignment.

"It sure is. I guess they finally realized that I'm at least worthy of it.." The young Jedi replied, to which his old friend hummed quietly, nodding.

"I'm certain you are, Ani. I'll let you get on with your business then. Please.. come see me sometime later, if you have time... we really should get better acquainted again.. it's been far too long since we sat down and talked." Padmé said, smiling at Anakin, who smiled back, and shrugged his shoulders, nodding afterwards.

"I'll see what I can do, Padmé. I'll catch up with you later.. stay safe." He answered, rubbing Padmé's shoulder quickly, after which he walked past her, and into the Supreme Chancellor's office.

As the doors closed behind the Jedi Knight, Padmé, Threepio and Captain Typho began to make their way out of the office level of the building. The young human senator felt happy to see her old friend, yet she sensed that Anakin was greatly troubled by something, which worried her. She hoped that in time, she could maybe help her dear friend in his problems, as she cared deeply for him.

Inside the Chancellor's offices now, Anakin bit his lip, as he began to walk further in, the artistic and elegant décors of the room leading into the main office area catching his attention, as always. The several small statues, and other expensive decorations told a lot about the Supreme Chancellor's interest in art and culture.

As he entered the office proper, and approached the Chancellor's desk, he could notice the elder human man sitting down on his chair, in the midst of talking to the Vice Chancellor Mas Amedda. Palpatine abruptly ended his conversation with the chagrian man, as he saw the young Jedi Knight approaching them. The Supreme Chancellor smiled widely, standing up from his chair.

"Anakin, my dear boy! How marvelous it is to see you again." The elder human said with a big smile, quickly walking his way around his desk, and towards Anakin, who swiftly walked up the steps to the Chancellor's desk. Mas Amedda stood back silently, watching on with a stoic expression, as the Chancellor placed his hands on the Jedi Knight's shoulders.

"It's a pleasure, as always, your Excellency.." Anakin replied, respectfully bowing his head to the Chancellor, who continued to smile, letting out a quiet and happy hum.

"You have no idea how pleased I was to hear about your escape from Jabba the Hutt's clutches, as well as Count Dooku's. It is most regrettable, that the Altisian Jedi were wiped out.." Palpatine stated, placing his hand on Anakin's shoulder, and starting to lead him towards the large window in the office. The young Jedi Knight sighed deeply, knowing that he shouldn't tell the Chancellor all the details about the attack aboard the Peacemaker.

"Yeah... I guess I'm lucky to have made it out of there alive. Dooku won't get away with what he did.. I'll make sure of that.." He answered determinately, squeezing his hands slightly.

Anakin knew that Dooku wasn't the only one who was behind the Altisian Jedi's demise, but he also knew that it wouldn't be wise for him to tell the Chancellor about Barriss, especially if she was helped to escape by someone working on the inside.

"I'm sure you will, Anakin. Dooku will get what is coming to him, if he hasn't already. Patience, my friend.." The elder human man answered, a rather ominous smile appearing on his face, though Anakin didn't notice it.

As the two of them got in front of the window, Chancellor Palpatine quickly glanced at his advisor, and waved his hand quickly, dismissing the chagrian man. Mas Amedda silently bowed his head to the Supreme Chancellor, after which he calmly made his way out of the office. Besides Anakin and the Chancellor, only two members of the Red Guard stayed in the room, guarding the exit.

The two longtime mentor and a student looked out of the large window, the hundreds of air speeders and starships flying past it in a matter of seconds. Traffic was busy, as it always was in the middle of the day on Coruscant. The elder Supreme Chancellor glanced at the much taller Jedi Knight beside him, his hand still on his shoulder.

"I trust that the Jedi Council has considered my offer to them? I assume that is why you're here." Palpatine then asked in a friendly manner. Anakin bit his lip slightly, and nodded. He'd have to keep his true mission a secret, no matter how bad he felt about having to spy on his mentor and friend.

"Yeah.. they've accepted your offer. I'll receive the rank of a Jedi Master, and they'll take me as a member of the Council, as your representative.." He explained, to which the experienced Chancellor smiled widely, patting the young man on his shoulder.

"Very good! Having you as my representative, I am sure that the Jedi and the Senate will stay on very good terms, after this war is over. Even though the Jedi are expected to stand down from military command.. I would like to see you continue to serve as the peacekeepers that you have always been, Anakin." The Supreme Chancellor said with a smile.

Anakin rubbed the back of his neck slightly, nodding, though feeling a bit uneasy. He felt so conflicted about his duties to the Jedi, and his duties to the Republic contradicting each other at the moment.

"I've wanted to be a Master my entire life.. but seeing this.. makes me doubtful. I didn't earn the spot on the Council, or the rank of a Jedi Master..." He said quietly, looking down.

To be eligible to the title of a Master, a Jedi would have had to train several Padawans to Knighthood. Anakin had failed in his training of Ahsoka, as she never underwent the trials to become a Jedi Knight. To be on the Jedi Council was an even bigger honor, and a rare privilege, as only the most wise and respected Masters would be allowed to join, after years of stalwart service to the Order. Anakin felt that he didn't deserve any of those privileges, even though he only got them, because the Jedi needed his help.

"Don't sell yourself short, Anakin. I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again; you are the most powerful Jedi I have ever come across. You more than qualify to be a Jedi Master, and become part of the Council. Master Windu and Yoda should be thankful that they have such a strong and wise Jedi such as yourself on their side.." Palpatine replied, patting the young man's shoulder again. The Chancellor had always had his back, reassuring him when the Jedi would not. Anakin sighed deeply, shaking his head.

"They don't trust me.. I know that. They feel that I'm too emotional.. that it makes me unpredictable, and reckless. They think that I'm a danger to the Jedi... always have." He stated quietly, realizing just how deep his trust issues with the Jedi ran. The only Jedi he truly trusted was Obi-Wan, but everyone else, he had a hard time thinking of being trustworthy.

"Your emotions are a powerful resource, Anakin. Because of them, you've become the strongest Jedi there is.." The Supreme Chancellor answered, glancing at the young man, who frowned slightly.

"No.. the Sith believe that emotions make you more powerful. They believe that passion is the center point of finding strength. The Jedi believe in peace, serenity, harmony and knowledge.. they want to understand the Force, while the Sith seek to dominate it..." Anakin explained, to which the Chancellor smiled slightly, squeezing the young man's shoulder, as he looked out of the window.

"Don't you believe that mastering both the light and the dark would make you the strongest? I'm no Jedi, but I have learned many things about the Force during my years of service as the Chancellor. Why only use one of the solutions, when they'd make you stronger, if you used them together?" Palpatine asked, which made Anakin frown again, biting his lip.

"Being the strongest is not the Jedi way. I know that the Order doesn't think highly of me... but I have to prove to them that despite their doubts, I'm worthy of being a Jedi.." He answered, swallowing quietly, as he thought about his promise to Ahsoka, about leaving the Order.

He still desired to leave it all behind, and spend the rest of his life with his lover. But right now, that wasn't possible. Chancellor Palpatine hummed quietly, smiling and nodding his head.

"Of course, and you shall prove them wrong, my boy. Even though you don't believe in using your emotions, you have already proven that they've made you stronger. And with strength comes wisdom.. and I'm certain that your wisdom will rival even Master Yoda's one day.." The elder human man replied, before turning around, and walking back to his desk. As Anakin followed him, the Chancellor sat down on his chair.

"There's going to be a quite breathtaking performance held at the _Galaxies Opera House_ , tomorrow evening. I'd like you to attend it with me, Anakin... it'd give us the chance to talk more. I'm afraid that I have to return to my duties right now.." Palpatine stated, leaning back on his chair, as Anakin walked in front of the Chancellor's desk. The young man nodded in acknowledgment, his hands placed inside his dark robes' sleeves.

"I'll be there, your Excellency. I have to return to the Temple... I assume that the Council will want to make me into a Master posthaste.." He replied, to which the elder human man smiled warmly, and glanced at Anakin.

"You'll make a fine Jedi Master, Anakin.. I'm sure of it. I will see you tomorrow at the opera then. Go in peace, my friend.." Palpatine said in a friendly manner, ever so slightly bowing his head towards the young Jedi, who smiled back, and bowed his entire body slightly.

"Thank you, Chancellor." Anakin replied, after which he turned around from the Supreme Chancellor, who glanced after the Jedi Knight, before returning to his duties.

Anakin sighed quietly, as he walked towards the exit. He didn't like having to lie to his mentor about his intentions, but he felt like he had no choice. Above all, he desired to find his lost lover Ahsoka, and get back with her. The only way he could do that, was to work with the Jedi Order, and spy on the Chancellor, and the Senate. As reprehensive as that was in his opinion, he knew that he'd do anything to get back to Ahsoka, and pursue a happy life with her.

The words of Chancellor Palpatine still echoed in his mind, though, and made him ponder them deeply. He knew that he wasn't a regular Jedi, he knew that many of his actions were strictly forbidden by the Order. But the thought of using the Dark Side to make himself even stronger than before, was something that the young human man wasn't willing to do, especially since he was to become a Jedi Master, and a member of the Jedi Council.

Anakin knew that he had done many questionable things, and used the Dark Side to empower him more than once. But the young Jedi Knight told himself that it was all necessary, and that he had no intentions of letting himself go over the edge, and actually fall to the darkness. Even though he had given in to the Dark Side before, he wanted to redeem himself, and stay in the light. His love for Ahsoka would keep him in line, and that was something he was sure of.

In the following moments, the young Jedi Knight exited the Chancellor's office, and made his way toward the exits of the building. He'd return to the Jedi Temple, where the Council had more than likely prepared the ceremony for him, in which he would be granted the title of Jedi Master, and accepted into the Jedi Council as a full member.

 **...**

Flocks of chirping birds flew in the sky, as a light breeze pushed through the air in the capital city of the planet Voss; Voss-Ka. Dozens of voss natives walked around the cobblestone streets in front of the large Tower of Prophecy building, which served as one of the main headquarters of the Voss government.

The young togruta female Ahsoka Tano, took a deep breath, as she stood near the stairwell leading up to the building's entrance. She enjoyed the fresh air on the rather eco-friendly planet, as there were not many overly populated or developed cities. The voss had always stayed very down to earth, and appreciated nature a lot, which was something that the young togruta liked, having gotten used to seeing so many planets, that were near ruined by pollution and overgrown cities.

As Ahsoka looked up, seeing the great building rise in front of her, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Glancing to her left, she could see the dathomirian Asajj Ventress standing next to her, her hand on the young girl's shoulder. The two of them had arrived to Voss-Ka around ten minutes ago, being accompanied by the voss healer Tana-Rey, who had promised to take them to the Tower of Prophecy. The human pilot Jonash Solo, and his son Han, had left for the spaceport earlier, intending to wait for the two women aboard their ship, the Stellar Envoy.

"It sure looks impressive.. I wonder what these voss really want with us. Good thing they gave us our lightsabers back.. so we're not entirely vulnerable." Ventress stated, as she looked at the large building in front of them. Ahsoka shrugged her shoulders, looking at her companion.

"I doubt that they would have saved my life, if they intended to kill us. Let's just see what the Three want to tell us, and then we'll be on our way." The young togruta answered with a smile, to which her dathomirian friend let out a quiet sigh.

"I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you, Ahsoka. Voss have minds like mazes.. they've always been elusive, and unpredictable. So I for one am keeping my eye on them..." She replied, as she took a step towards the building. As Ahsoka looked to her left, she could see Tana-Rey walking near them, accompanying them inside the building.

"The Three rarely meet with outsiders. Consider yourselves honored, initiates... this is a special occasion indeed." The young voss healer said, a smile on her face, as they now walked up the stairwell. Ahsoka raised her eyebrows slightly, glancing at the voss female.

"You have any idea what they want with us?" She asked quietly, walking up the steps. Tana-Rey shook her head quickly, her near glowing blue eyes gazing at the togruta for a second.

"I cannot know.. but the Mystics had a vision about you two. The Interpreters could have completed their interpretation of that particular vision. The Three might tell you about it in more detail.." The voss healer explained, although she was simply guessing. Ahsoka bit her lip slightly, wondering what the Mystics could have seen in their vision about her and Ventress. It was both fascinating, and slightly worrying at the same time.

The trio then made their way to the top of the stairwell, and walked into the large building. As soon as they entered, Ahsoka could feel her heart jump slightly, as she could only admire the beauty of the ancient voss architecture. The Tower of Prophecy reminded her of the Jedi Temple in a few ways, which gave her a slight sense of familiarity, and with that came comfort.

Tana-Rey took lead then, heading towards a long set of spiral stairs, that would take them to the second level of the building. Ahsoka and Ventress followed the young voss female, not knowing themselves where to go. In a few moments, they got to the top of the stairs, after which the voss healer led them down a long hallway, towards an entrance to a large room at the end of the walkway.

After they got to the end of the hallway, Tana-Rey turned around to smile at the two outsiders. She then stepped aside from the doorway to the Hall of the Mystics, politely motioning Ahsoka and Ventress to step inside first. Shrugging her shoulders, the dathomirian walked inside, Ahsoka biting her lip again, as she followed her. Tana-Rey in turn followed her, after she had entered the room.

The Hall of the Mystics was a large audience hall, bearing slight similarities to the Separatist Senate, which Ahsoka had seen a couple years ago, when she visited the Confederate capital world of Raxus. At the other end of the room, there were three seats at the top of stairwells, elevated on small pedestals, overlooking the rest of the hall. On those seats sat three elegantly and expensively clothed voss, two male, and one female. Ahsoka figured that they were the "Three"; the de facto leaders of Voss.

As they approached the three seated voss leaders, the young togruta could see dozens of voss natives in the room, sitting down on seating all around the hall, as well as several armed guards taking point near the walls and entrances. The two women shortly arrived to the bottom of the short stairwell, at which's top the Three resided. Ahsoka and Ventress looked up, both waiting for the voss to tell them, just why they had been asked to come here. Tana-Rey stood back, silently watching the situation unfold a few meters away.

"Outsiders.. you are in the presence of the Three; the voice of the people of Voss. Our judgments and decisions come from the visions of our revered Mystics. I am _Panek-Ta_... welcome to the Tower of Prophecy." The voss man at the center of the three leaders spoke out, visibly older than the other two representatives of the Three. Ahsoka bit her lip, after which she politely bowed to the voss leaders.

"Thank you. I am most grateful for the efforts of your healers to save my life.." She said politely, feeling genuinely appreciative to the voss, and what they had done for her. Ventress folded her arms, not bowing down to the voss leaders.

"Yeah.. what she said." The dathomirian said quietly, seemingly quite tense, looking around constantly, as the armed voss soldiers kept an eye on them. The old voss leader hummed quietly, leaning back on his seat.

"My colleagues are _Tener-Kal_ to my left, and the young woman to my right, _Sanesh-Ri_. We have called you here to relay the vision of our Mystics, that has finally been interpreted..." Panek-Ta explained, his hands resting on his seat's armrests. Ventress and Ahsoka quickly glanced at each other, both starting to feel their hearts beating faster. They then turned their attention back at the Three, waiting for them to tell about the vision.

"The vision sees you, pale woman, bringing the young Jedi here. It also sees her traversing the forests near the former _Nightmare Lands_ , and finding a cave with an ancient altar inside of it. She will meditate at the altar, and her journey will turn a new page..." The younger male voss, Tener-Kal, explained, looking at Ahsoka, whose eyes widened. Ventress raised her eyebrow, and glanced at her friend.

"Me..? Why would I need to travel to some altar..? Does the vision tell anything else?" She asked, rubbing her arm slightly. The female member of the Three simply titled her head slightly.

"The vision has been seen... and the vision will come true. It is as it should be. What you'll find at the altar, the vision does not say... but it will be important to your destiny, young one." Sanesh-Ri stated in a soft, yet determined voice, which made Ahsoka bite her lip, and rub her arm more.

"Look deep within yourself.. feel the aura of the Force around you, and you will find the cave. That is what our Mystics have deemed to come true.. the rest is up to you, young Jedi..." Panek-Ta then said, which sent shivers down the young togruta's spine. She sighed quietly, not knowing what to do.

"I'm not a Jedi..." Ahsoka replied, looking down at the floor. The Three glanced at each other, before Tener-Kal hummed quietly.

"The vision and the Interpreters deemed otherwise, togruta. Your heart knows what you are deep down inside.. even if your mind has rejected it." The male voss noted, which caused Ahsoka's heart beat faster. She didn't want to believe the man's words; she could never be a Jedi again, in all honesty.

"We are finished here, outsiders. Go now, with our blessing. May fortune favor you in the path to your destiny, young one.." Panek-Ta said, before motioning his hand in a voss ceremonial way, indicating that Ahsoka and Ventress were dismissed. The young togruta bit her lip, as she bowed to the Three.

"I... thank you.." She could only say, as she bowed to the three voss, who simply stared at her, not saying a word. As Ahsoka stood up again, Ventress placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Come on.. let's get out of here." The dathomirian whispered to her, to which the young togruta swiftly nodded her head.

The two of them then turned around, and began to make their way out of the Hall of the Mystics. As they walked past her, Tana-Rey silently started to follow them out, gracefully walking, keeping her hands respectably crossed. In a few short moments, the trio had exited the room full of voss, whom all stayed behind. As they stood in the hallway outside of the Hall of the Mystics, both Ahsoka and Ventress turned towards Tana-Rey.

"So.. these whackos want you to go out to some 'Nightmare Lands' place, and enter a nasty cave.. all by yourself?" The dathomirian woman asked, scoffing quietly, as her arms were folded. Ahsoka rubbed the back of her neck, shrugging her shoulders.

"I guess..." She replied quietly, not being sure about it herself either. As the two of them then glanced at Tana-Rey for advice, the voss healer smiled warmly.

"The Nightmare Lands used to be shrouded with dark energy. However, the region was purged long ago, and the area has been a peaceful forest to this day. The cave must be one of the dozens in that region.. still strongly attuned to the Force..." The young female explained in a friendly manner, to which Ventress sighed quietly, glancing back at her togruta friend.

"Are you seriously going to go there, Ahsoka? We've no idea what you'll face there.." She said, which made the young togruta sigh long, and nod. She had her doubts, but she did not know if it was wise to go against the voss visions and prophecies.

"I have no idea if it's a good idea or not.. but the Mystics seem to think that it's part of my destiny... so who am I to argue with that?" Ahsoka asked back, shrugging her shoulders. Tana-Rey smiled, and nodded her head.

"Your path forward was seen in that vision, initiate. It is your destiny to follow it, and travel to that cave. From there.. I'm sure things will become clearer." The young voss healer explained, her blue eyes looking at Ahsoka, who bit her lip, and rubbed her arm again.

"I don't like this.. you shouldn't go through with it..." Ventress said, her arms still folded, as he looked at the young togruta with a worried expression. Tana-Rey bit her lip slightly at that, but didn't say anything, even though it was clear that she'd want Ahsoka to honor the vision.

The young woman sighed audibly, looking down at the floor, as she thought deeply to herself. She felt unsure about the whole ordeal, not because of the vision itself, but because of the possibilities of what she could face inside that cave. Ahsoka didn't want to go against the visions of the voss Mystics, even if she didn't much care about them. Her polite and kind nature made her want to honor the traditions and ways. Furthermore, she was slightly curious about what she could find in that cave. The thought of it being part of her "destiny" did fascinate the young togruta.

"I.. I'll do it. It's only appropriate that I don't go against what the vision foretold.." She said quietly, to which Ventress sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"Self-fulfilling prophecies are the worst, sweetheart... but alright, if you're sure. I won't let you go there alone, though... I'm coming with you." The dathomirian replied, which made Tana-Rey smile again, and nod her head, as she looked at Ahsoka.

"I'd like to accompany you there as well. Although you will face your destiny alone, I believe that we can help you reach them however we are able.." The young voss female stated. Ahsoka bit her lip, and took a deep breath.

"Okay... I guess we should try to figure out where that cave is, then.." She said quietly, rubbing her arm again. Ventress reassuringly touched the young girl's shoulder, giving it a slight rub. Tana-Rey then stood a bit straighter, her face bright and enthusiastic.

"If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the shuttle port. We can then requisition a vehicle, and travel to the old Nightmare Lands... I'm sure that you'll have an easier time locating the cave, once we're in that region." The voss healer explained, after which Ahsoka and Ventress quickly glanced at each other. The togruta then shrugged her shoulders, a small polite smile forming on her face, as she looked back at Tana-Rey.

"Okay then.. lead the way, Tana." Ahsoka said, quickly bowing her head to the healer, who smiled wider, and bowed back, after which she started to head back towards the stairwell, which would take them to the ground level, and out of the building. The young voss female had a proud smile on her face; she really seemed to enjoy helping the two outsiders.

In the following moments, the trio of women made their way out of the Tower of Prophecy. As soon as they walked outside, Tana-Rey took lead, and started to head towards Voss-Ka's shuttle port, from where they could travel to the region formerly named the Nightmare Lands.

As they walked on, Ahsoka's mind travelled to Anakin constantly. She felt so worried for her human lover, not knowing where he was. She knew how angry and dangerous Anakin could get, if his loved ones were in danger of harm. The young girl could only imagine what the man she loved had done to the person, who had stabbed her in the back.

She also wondered about that very person who had nearly killed her. Ahsoka could remember seeing the blade of a red lightsaber coming through her chest, so she figured that it had to be Count Dooku, or one of his lackeys. What worried her, however, was that she could remember feeling a familiar presence, just before she was stabbed in the back. The thought of the backstabber being someone she knew, only increased her worries, as she knew full well, that she had never met Count Dooku in person, which meant that the feeling of familiarity couldn't have come from him.

Sighing quietly to herself, the young togruta kept on walking. She felt Ventress' hand on her shoulder again, as they walked on. The dathomirian had really become her friend, despite all odds. The fact that she was not alone on this strange world brought some comfort to her, and Ahsoka also felt grateful to the Force, that Ventress and her had put their past differences behind them, and had grown close. She truly felt that the dathomirian woman was not what she used to be, and that she could be trusted without question. She was a true friend.

 **...**

Grey skies gloomed over the jungle world of Keskin, the surface still wet from the recent rainfall, that had stopped a little while ago. The thick vegetation hid a sizeable military camp deep in the jungles, camouflaging it in the trees and bushes fairly well. This camp was used by the rather rogue Jedi Master Rahm Kota, who led his personally recruited militia on top secret special forces missions all around the Galaxy, helping the Republic war effort in any way he could, while avoiding dealings with the Grand Army, and their clone forces.

A squad of armed militiamen entered the camp's premises, escorting a four-man group of clone commandos with them; Delta Squad. The clones all felt overmatched, and slightly threatened, as they entered the camp, seeing dozens more of Kota's militia laying their eyes on them, and keeping their weapons close. The Jedi General and his subordinates all distrusted clones, which made the atmosphere feel tense, at the very least.

As the militiamen led the clone troopers to a large tent in the camp, the squad leader, Boss, could then notice the famous Jedi Master, standing at a holographic strategic table, a few of his militia's officers around him. The middle aged human man conversed with his men, before spotting the approaching clones, and his subordinates. The Jedi Master looked up, and frowned slightly, as the clones entered the tent.

As soon as they entered, the entire tent fell silent. Delta Squad could only silently look around, as the militiamen around them simply stared at them, Kota and his officers looking sour. The leading human man of the squad that had escorted them, stood in attention and saluted the Jedi General.

"General Kota, sir! We found these tank-breeds lurking around about a _klick_ to the west... they want to have a word with you.." The human man said, presenting the clones to the Jedi Master, who frowned again, as he laid his eyes on the commandos. He folded his arms, and let out a quiet scoff.

"This should be good... I don't suppose that the Republic sends a commando squad to seek me out, unless it's important. So.. what do you want?" Rahm Kota asked, as he leaned on the hologram emitting table. The clone commandos quickly glanced at each other, before their leader cleared his throat.

"General Kota, we were sent here to get you in contact with the Jedi Council.. they have something important to discuss with you." Boss explained, trying to be as diplomatic as he could. The Jedi General's eyes widened a bit, after which he hummed.

"Hmm.. don't know why they couldn't send a Jedi to find me, but alright.. I'll bite. Patch me in to them.." The human Jedi replied, to which the clone commando lieutenant nodded his head.

Boss then quickly stepped forward, and leaned over the table, pressing buttons on the controls, to open up a holotransmission on the frequency that the Jedi Council used. The table flickered, as it began to transmit holographic feed of the Jedi Council's chambers. Master Kota stood straighter, and placed his hands behind his back, as he saw the members of the Jedi Council who were present in the chambers at the moment, sitting down in their seats.

"My masters.. it's an honor to speak to you again, after all these months." The middle aged man said, bowing his head slightly in honoring of the Jedi High Council. Master Windu leaned back on his seat, nodding his head, his expression calm and collected as always.

"The pleasure is ours, Master Kota. Though we wish that we could contact you under less dire circumstances..." He stated, stroking his chin slightly. Kota raised his eyebrows, biting his lip ever so slightly.

"Dire? What's happening, master..?" The man asked, slightly stroking his bearded chin now. Kota's appearance was very roughed and worn, his face dirty and his hair and beard messy. Master Windu glanced at his fellow Council members, before sighing quietly.

"It's about your old Padawan, Rahm... Kayla Ni'Korish. She has taken her Hapan military forces to war with the Republic, and has ravaged both Tanaab and Onderon so far.." The dark skinned human man replied, which caused General Kota's eyes to widen even more, as his mouth fell open from shock.

Kota took a step back, his hand stroking his beard. He had not expected to hear the name of his former Padawan again, after her departure from the Jedi Order. Hearing just what the Queen Mother had done ached the Jedi Master's heart. Kayla's fall to the Dark Side was one of the reasons why Rahm Kota had become the recluse he was today.

"Kayla..? What exactly has she done..?" He asked the Jedi Council, whose members glanced at each other again. The cerean Jedi Master Ki-Adi Mundi sighed, as he spoke up then.

"She nearly burned down all the farms on Tanaab, and her forces obliterated Onderon's defenses, as they took over the planet. She also personally executed Onderon's prime minister, Lux Bonteri." Master Mundi explained, which caused the human Jedi Master gasped quietly, his hand in front of his mouth. Kota seemed especially distraught, and his men could see it, as they glanced at each other with worried expressions.

"By the Force.. what is that girl doing?" The middle aged war veteran asked himself, trying to figure out just what his former Padawan had gotten herself into. Master Windu then inhaled quickly, before speaking again.

"The Republic is gathering a massive fleet to attack Onderon as we speak. Because of the Queen Mother's frequent usage of battle meditation, the attack would result in massive Republic losses. We believe that you have a chance of changing her mind about this crusade of hers, if you were to talk to her.." He explained, which made the roguish Jedi Master sigh, and nod in agreement. Kota knew that even though he and his Padawan were never especially close to each other, he still had the best chance of talking down the bloodthirsty Queen Mother.

"Yeah.. I understand, Master. I just hope that we won't be too late... I can only imagine the destruction she has already caused. I'll make sure that we're ready to depart for Onderon as soon as possible." The Jedi Master replied, to which his officer quickly nodded their heads in acknowledgment. The Jedi Council members on the other side of the holographic transmission seemed relieved to hear that.

"Good.. we will do our best at delaying the Republic attack. If the Force is with us, we'll be able to resolve this without further bloodshed.." Master Windu answered, sitting a bit straighter on his seat now. Kota let out a quiet scoff, as he leaned over the table.

"The Force is always with us, Master Windu. I will contact you, once we're on the way. Kota out.." He stated, before clicking the holographic transmission away. As soon as the Jedi Council's holograms disappeared, the determined Jedi Master turned to his men.

"Alright, you heard me, men! Get moving, and start packing up.. we're leaving!" General Kota ordered, to which his men inside the tent quickly salute him, and nodded.

"Sir, yes sir!" They all replied in unison, after which they quickly made their way out of the tent, and proceeded to begin the preparations for their departure. After the soldiers had exited the tent, Kota turned his attention to the four clones, who still remained inside.

"Thank you for seeking me out.. this was definitely something important. But I trust that you can see yourself out of my base, and leave this planet by your own accord? We aren't taking any extra passengers aboard our ships..." The human man said in a slightly condemning tone. He frowned at the clone commandoes, whose leader simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"That's quite alright, General Kota. We will leave your compound immediately, and head for our point of extraction. Good luck, sir." Boss said to the human Jedi General, saluting him quickly, which made Kota scoff quietly.

The clone lieutenant then quickly turned around, and signaled his squad to follow him, as he walked out of the tent. The rest of the Deltas followed in their squad leader's suit, exiting the tent in quick fashion, leaving the human Jedi alone. As soon as the clones walked through the camp again, Scorch scoffed quietly to himself, shaking his head.

"Man, that was awkward. Never thought I'd meet a Jedi that doesn't like us clones.." The clone demolitions expert stated quietly, to which his squadmate Sev let out a quiet chuckle.

"That's just because the rest haven't seen your ugly mug, Scorch." The sniper chuckled, nudging Scorch's arm, who rolled his eyes under his helmet. The team co-leader Fixer quickly glanced at the two.

"Cut the chatter.. let's just get off this planet." The professional and sometimes moody clone said, to which the squad leader nodded his head in agreement.

"I second that. Come on.. let's move out, Deltas!" Boss ordered, as he made his way out of the military camp, walking through the makeshift "gates" of a barricade, that surrounded the encampment.

In the following moments, the squad of clone commandoes exited the militia camp, leaving the heavily armed anti-clone soldiers behind to prepare for their departure from Keskin. Delta Squad had completed their mission, and were now tasked to leave the planet, and await for further orders.

Kota and his militia would soon leave the planet as well, and quickly set their sights on Onderon. If the Jedi Council's words about a Republic fleet amassing near the planet in preparation of a massive offensive, the experienced and battle worn Jedi Master would have no time to waste, in his quest to try to stop the Hapan Queen Mother's war against the Republic.

Kota had little chance of persuading his former Padawan to stand down, but he was willing to take that risk. He still felt responsible for not being there for her, as she had left the Jedi Order, and strayed away from the path of the light side. Seeing this as a chance of redemption, and righting the wrongs he had committed as a Master, Kota was determined to do his hardest at attempting to stop his former apprentice's war of aggression, that would only lead to thousands, if not millions of more deaths. He had to stop the Queen Mother, or else the Galaxy would face only more death and suffering. And the rogue Jedi Master had seen enough death during his lifetime already.

 **...**

Inside the Jedi Temple main ziggurat, in a hallway near the entrance to the _Room of a Thousand Fountains_ , the massive greenhouse built for the Jedi to use as a place of training and meditation, stood Anakin Skywalker, heavily breathing, as he approached the guarded doors to the _Hall of the Masters_. The Hall of the Masters was a special chamber built near the greenhouse, which served as the place where the Jedi Council usually held the ceremonies, in which Jedi Knights were granted the title of a Master.

There existed another similar room, called the _Hall of Knighthood_ , where Jedi Padawans were formally given the rank of a Jedi Knight, in the _Knighting Ceremony_ which Anakin had underwent a few years earlier.

The young human man walked up to the doors, seeing two _Jedi Temple Guards_ standing beside the doors. The Temple Guards were a special division of the Jedi Order, in which volunteering Jedi Knights would fully commit themselves to the duty of protecting the Temple from any and all threats, as well as keeping the Temple's residents safe at all times. Jedi Temple Guards could never forgo their position, and return to the duties of a regular Knight, as protecting the Jedi Temple was a sacred duty, and would not be taken lightly.

The guards were highly respected by the rest of the Order, however, as they were seen as one of the most committed, pure and faithful Jedi in the entire Galaxy. Nevertheless, Anakin didn't hold as much respect for them, as he still held a grudge for the Guards for keeping him away from his Padawan and lover Ahsoka, when she was falsely accused of murder.

As he approached the doors, the two guards suddenly ignited their _lightsaber pikes_ , which were in reality just specially built double-bladed lightsabers, rather than actual pikes, with yellow colored blades. The Temple Guards moved their blades in front of the door, blocking Anakin's access. The young Knight stopped, and folded his arms, rolling his eyes.

"Getting tired of you guys doing that.." He said to the guards, who didn't answer, and simply stood still.

The doors to the Hall of the Masters then slid open, and Anakin could notice another Jedi Temple Guard approaching him. The guard had his hood lowered, and distinctive mask removed, which was a rare sight with the Temple Guards. The young human man raised his eyebrows slightly, as he could see the pau'an male approach him. Not many pau'ans were Force sensitive, and even less were known to be in the service of the Jedi Order. The two other guardsmen moved their lightsabers out of their colleague's way, as the man stepped in front of Anakin.

"Anakin Skywalker.. the Jedi Council is expecting you. Tell me, what is the enemy of complete inner peace?" The pau'an asked, his silvery eyes glaring at Anakin, who bit his lip slightly. He knew that this was part of the initiation to the ceremony he was about to undertake.

"Emotion, my brother.." Anakin replied quietly, slightly frowning, as he knew that his emotions often got the better of him, which was entirely against the teachings of the Jedi.

"What is the first step to true knowledge?" The Temple Guard continued, reciting the oath all Knights would take before the ceremony. The oath was in reality a rarely used version of the Jedi Code.

"Ignorance, my brother.." Anakin replied, to which the pau'an man nodded his head, proceeding to continue with the oath.

"What must you reject, if you are to reach serenity?" He asked, which made Anakin bite his lip again, and his heart skip a beat.

"Passion.. my brother.." The young human replied, his eyes quickly glancing down at the floor, as his mind was filled with thoughts of his lost lover, Ahsoka. Anakin could remember all the passion he had shared with his Padawan, which made him slightly doubt his decision to stay with the Jedi, and go along with this.

"What must we work towards in times of chaos?" The pau'an Jedi Temple Guard continued, though noticing that Anakin was slightly distracted. Taking a deep breath, the young human nodded his head.

"Harmony, my brother.." He answered, forcing himself to let his thoughts of Ahsoka go, as he focused in to the present moment. The Temple Guard then let out a quiet hum, preparing to recite the final verse of the oath.

"What makes death only the beginning of our next life, and destiny?" The pau'an man asked, staring at Anakin, who exhaled long, before answering again.

"The Force... my brother.." He replied, gracefully bowing his head, as he finished the pledge. As he stood straighter again, the pau'an man nodded his head slowly.

"And so.. you are ready, brother. Go on in, they are waiting..." The Temple Guard stated, as he stepped aside from Anakin's path. The two other guardsmen deactivated their lightsabers, and respectfully bowed to the Jedi Knight, who took a deep breath again.

Anakin then nodded slightly to himself, as in reassuring himself that everything would go well. He slowly took a step forward, walking past the three guards, and into the Hall of Masters. As soon as he stepped inside, the pau'an man quickly walked out, and shut the door behind him. Complete darkness fell upon the room, as Anakin was seemingly left alone inside.

The young Jedi Knight stood still, his eyes scanning the dark room. He couldn't see a thing, and his mind was a bit too distracted for him to see through the Force, not that he was exactly skilled at it. The ability to see with the help of the Force was easy to learn, but extremely hard to master. Naturally blind near-human race, the _miraluka_ were inherently Force-sensitive, and could use the ability of _Force Sight_ with as much training as a toddler needed to use a toilet. Since every single miraluka were Force-sensitive to some extent, they were usually recruited by the Jedi to serve with the Order.

Because their numbers had been few for over a millennia, not that many miraluka served as Jedi in the Order today, however. The species had never fully recovered from the destruction of their homeworld, due to extreme climate change. Furthermore, millions of miraluka were killed, when the powerful ancient Sith Lord _Darth Nihilius_ destroyed the planet _Katarr_ with his Force powers, leaving the miraluka numbers in the Galaxy greatly diminished to this day.

As Anakin took a step forward, several lights in the room turned on. Like torches, the artistic lights, built atop short poles, lit up the Hall of the Masters. His hear began to beat faster, as the young human man looked around, seeing the many _bronzium_ statues of legendary Jedi Masters placed along the walls, decorating the ceremonial room.

Anakin then glanced at the end of the room, seeing the elevated pedestals, on which the members of the Jedi Council stood, silently waiting for him. Many of the pedestals were empty, however, as only a few Council members were present on Coruscant at the moment. At the center of the pedestals stood Mace Windu, who looked upon the young Jedi Knight.

"Anakin Skywalker.. step forward to the circle near you." The Jedi Master instructed, after which Anakin did as asked, walking to a circle on the floor at the center of the room. The circle was decorated with the symbol of the Jedi Order.

The young human man stopped at the center, and silently knelt down, taking out his lightsaber hilt, and placing it on the floor in front of him, as was the custom. Anakin knew how the ceremony would go, as he had witnessed his former master Obi-Wan's ceremony years earlier.

After setting his lightsaber down, he took a deep breath, and looked up at the Jedi Council members again. Masters Windu, Secura, Fisto and Coleman Kcaj had variable expressions on their faces, with the human Jedi Master looking at Anakin in a stoic way, while both Aayla and Kit Fisto were smiling. Master Kcaj's expression was difficult to see, as ongree facial appearance differed greatly from more humanlike species.

"It has come to the decision of the Jedi High Council, that you be granted the rank and entitlements of a Jedi Master. You have also been granted a seat on the Council, as the representative of the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Do you accept these terms?" Master Windu then asked, to which Anakin slightly bowed his head, honoring the Masters in front of him.

"I do.." The young Jedi Knight answered, having his head bowed down. As Master Windu silently nodded, the twi'lek female next to him spoke up then.

"A Jedi Master is the pinnacle of what it means to be a Jedi. They are respected by the other members of the Order, as well as the outside world as the truest practitioners of the Light. It is both a great privilege, as well as responsibility... are you prepared to commit yourself fully to our cause, and become the Jedi you were always meant to be?" Aayla asked, a slight smile on her face, as she looked at Anakin, who quickly looked up at her, his expression changing. The young man took a deep breath, as he then sighed, and nodded.

"I am..." Anakin answered, despite having doubts, and his mind distracted. The four Jedi Master then quickly glanced at each other, all nodding their heads in agreement.

"Then it will be so. Anakin Skywalker, you are hereby proclaimed as a Master of the Jedi Order, and a member of the High Council. In the light of the Force, and in presence of the great Jedi Masters who came before, you may rise.. fellow Master." Master Windu then proclaimed, spreading his arms slightly in a customary way. Anakin bit his lip, and slowly stood up, picking up his lightsaber as well.

As the newly proclaimed Jedi Master rose up, the High Council members in front of him bowed their heads politely, honoring the young man, who could feel his heart pounding, and drops of sweat rolling down his forehead. Anakin bowed as well, feeling incredibly conflicted, but was determined to not show it.

"Thank you, Masters... I.. I'm truly humbled.. and honored. I.. never thought I'd see this day come true..." He stuttered slightly, still bowing to the Jedi Masters, who all glanced at each other. Aayla let out a quiet chuckle, as he turned her attention back to the young human.

"Come now, Anakin.. this is a great day for you. Rejoice, and be proud that you've come this far. You certainly have earned this... every bit of it." The kind and caring twi'lek female said, smiling and winking her eye at Anakin, who bit his lip again. Master Windu didn't seem as excited as his female colleague was, but didn't say anything. The nautolan Jedi Master Fisto grinned widely, his perfectly white teeth visible.

"Congratulations, Skywalker. Now.. go relax, and take some time for yourself, alright? You still need to recover from your injuries, and your new duties can wait a little while." The green skinned nautolan man said with a smirk, to which Anakin nodded his head.

"I understand. Thank you again, Masters. May the Force be with you.." He answered, quickly bowing again to the Jedi Masters, who all did the same to him.

"The Force is with you, Anakin. We'll see you in the chamber once you're ready." Master Windu stated, to which Anakin quickly bowed his head again, as he turned around afterwards, and began to make his way out of the room.

As he walked towards the doors, Anakin could feel how his heartbeat calmed. He still felt distracted and conflicted, his thoughts travelling to Ahsoka constantly. He had just become one of the youngest Jedi Masters, as well as the youngest Jedi inducted to the High Council in all of history. Not even the legendary _Barsen'thor_ of the Old Republic was as young as Anakin, when he was given a seat on the Jedi Council, thousands of years ago.

The young man was filled with both joy, overwhelming sense of pride, as well as deep distress, and despair. He wanted nothing else but to find his lost lover, and live a peaceful life with her. But his lifelong dreams of becoming a Jedi Master, a respected member of the Order had finally come true, which made him feel conflicted. Anakin knew that he had to stay with the Jedi, now more than ever, but it didn't stop him from wishing that he'd still be with Ahsoka, and that he could just run away with her, and never look back.

However, he still had a mission to complete, and that was to find the Sith mastermind behind all of the trouble the Jedi had faced for years now. Anakin wanted to find and kill that Sith Lord as soon as he could, so that he could finally retire from the Order, and reunite with his togruta lover. He knew that Aayla and Quinlan had promised that to him, as long as he'd play ball with the wishes of the Order, and help them defeat the Sith once and for all.

Whether or not the rest of the Jedi would approve didn't matter to him, he was determined to leave the Order, after seeing his mission through. No matter that he had just become a Jedi Master, Anakin above all loved Ahsoka, and would forever do everything he could for her. Nothing mattered to him more than the young togruta he had fallen in love with so deeply, and he was ready to put aside even the greatest honor of being an esteemed Jedi Master in the High Council.

Sighing quietly to himself, Anakin got to the doors, and opened them. He immediately walked through the doorway, and into the hallways beyond. The young Jedi Master then looked around, before making his way toward the residential wing that housed his private quarters. The young man felt that he needed a cold shower and a few hours of sleep, before he could return to his duties.

Sun was beginning to set, as evening darkened the skies of Coruscant. The next morning Anakin's life would turn a new page, as his duties as a Jedi Master and a Council member would begin. His mission to spy on the Chancellor, and report his findings to the rest of the Council would also begin, which was something that the young man still detested doing, but thought that he had no other choice. But in the end, he was ready to do anything, as long as it meant that he'd one day be reunited with Ahsoka, and be able to start a completely new life with her, somewhere far away from the Jedi and the Republic.

 **...**

The sound of wind and distant chirping of birds caught the ear of Ahsoka, as her feet touched the grassy ground in a large forested canyon, in the former "Nightmare Lands" region of the planet Voss. The young togruta had arrived to the area a little while ago, being accompanied by her dathomirian friend Asajj Ventress, and their voss "guide", Tana-Rey. Ahsoka had begun to feel the aura of the Force draw her to this canyon, as if wanting her to go there. The young girl had deduced that the cave she was meant to find was in the near vicinity.

As they had travelled to the region aboard a small air speeder, Tana-Rey had told Ahsoka and Ventress about the history of the Nightmare Lands. Thousands of years ago, the Nightmare Lands were shrouded in dark energy, which tainted the forests in darkness, and corrupted the animals and sentient beings to horrible monsters. The darkness within the region expanded upon the years, devouring and corrupting more and more Voss lands, with seemingly no end.

Deep in the region laid an ancient temple, called the _Dark Heart_. Inside the temple resided terrible things, monsters and corrupted entities. One such entity was called " _Sel-Makor_ ". Sel-Makor was behind much of the Nightmare Lands' expansion, and desired to devour the entirety of Voss. During the Cold War, the Jedi Knight who became to be known as the legendary _Hero of Tython_ , managed to destroy the dark entity with the help of a voss Mystic. Both of these figures were long revered as divine heroes by the rest of the voss.

After Sel-Makor's defeat, the Nightmare Lands ceased to expand, yet they still remained for centuries beyond. Only after the last of the gormak were destroyed, did the Nightmare Lands mysteriously start to dissipate and shrink. In a few decades, the entirety of the region was purged from the dark energy, and for the first time in thousands of years, Voss was free of darkness. The Nightmare Lands had ever since been a peaceful forest, where wildlife came to live free of any troubles. The name had remained the same, however, as the voss wanted to remember the hardships they had to go through, and thought that through these hardships, they had grown stronger as a people.

The trio walked down a grassy path towards the side of a tall canyon. Ahsoka breathed calmly, though heavily, as she could feel the Force's pull grow stronger with each step she took. After a few moments of walking toward the rocky wall of the canyon, the young togruta could notice a small entrance to a cave nearby. Her heart skipped a beat, as her eyes widened, and she took a few running steps towards the cave entrance. Ventress and Tana-Rey could see it as well, walking closely behind Ahsoka.

"There! That must be the cave!" The young girl exclaimed, as she jogged towards the small entrance.

As she got a few meters away from the cave, Ahsoka suddenly stopped. She could feel as if a cold chilly breeze pushed out of the cave, giving her the chills. The togruta girl rubbed her arms slightly, feeling the cold wind chilling her. Her two companions didn't seem to feel it, however, as they walked behind her, looking at the cave entrance. Ventress scoffed quietly, shaking her head, as she stopped next to Ahsoka.

"Really? That small and creepy looking place?" The dathomirian asked, placing her hand on her waist. Ahsoka clenched her teeth together, still feeling the Force calling her to that cave.

"Yeah.. this is the place... I can feel it.." She replied, to which Ventress raised her eyebrow, as she quickly glanced at the entrance again. The dathomirian then let out a quiet sigh, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright... let's go then.." Ventress said, as she took a step towards the cave entrance. She was quickly stopped by Tana-Rey, however, as the voss female grabbed her arm.

"The vision saw her enter the cave alone. We must remain here.." The blue-eyed voss stated, which caused the dathomirian frown deeply, as she glanced at her.

"What? You seriously think I'll let her enter that ominous looking place all by herself?" Ventress asked, looking at the voss female as if she was staring at a mad dog. Ahsoka quickly turned her attention to the two, and calmly placed her hand on the dathomirian's shoulder.

"It's fine, Asajj. I have to do this alone.." She said to the pale skinned woman, who bit her lip, before sighing deeply. Ventress nodded, though clearly not liking the situation.

"Okay.. but just be careful in there. Nothing good can dwell in a place like that.." The dathomirian replied, worry clear in her expression. Ahsoka responded with a quick nod, as she then turned back around, and faced the cave entrance. The young girl took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Well.. only one way to find out..." She said quietly to herself, after which she started walking towards the cave.

In a few short seconds, Ahsoka was at the entrance, and could take a better look inside. She could only see a cramped and rocky pathway leading deeper into the cave, and not much else, as the darkness made it difficult to see anything. She could notice vines, and other vegetation growing on the ceiling of the rocky cave, which was less than three meters tall. Her heart beat faster and faster with every inch she took closer to the cave.

Mustering up her courage, the togruta girl stepped into the cave, her feet touching down on the rocky floor. After walking a meter or so inside, Ahsoka turned to look at Ventress and Tana-Rey, who patiently stayed standing outside. Letting out another sigh, the young girl then turned back around, and made her way deeper into the dark and cold cave.

Ahsoka walked along the dark and rocky path deeper into the cave, her footsteps echoing as she pressed forward. She arrived to a small curve in the tunnel, turning leftwards. The young girl followed the path, turning as well. Not long after, she arrived to an opening in the tunnel. A large "room" opened up in front of her, as she stepped out of the small and cramped tunnel.

She looked around, gazing at the large area in front of her. At the center of the cavern shrine was an ancient, somewhat ruined rocky altar. The altar seemed like it had been built there several millennia ago, and time and the elements had decayed it to some extent. Not much else was visible inside the area, albeit for some small urns, and other decorative items, most of which had also decayed in the long years the cavern shrine had existed. Ahsoka felt a drop of cold sweat roll down her forehead, as her heart began to beat faster again.

As the young togruta slowly approached the altar, she could hear faint, yet audible whispers all around the shrine. Ahsoka could feel a chilling sensation creeping down her spine, as she could hear more creepy whispering. She felt as if someone was watching her, and the whispers definitely didn't help with that uneasy feeling.

Ahsoka quickly walked up to the altar, and looked around again, not seeing anyone, or anything. The whispering continued however, saying words that the young girl could not make out. She wasn't sure if the voices were a figment of her imagination, because she felt nervous and scared, or if the shrine really held some dark secrets and spirits, that shouldn't be discovered.

As she looked around yet again, feeling more nervous, Ahsoka then sighed deeply, and turned her attention at the altar. She thought that since the vision saw her mediate upon the altar, then that's what she needed to do right now. Taking a deep breath, the young togruta closed her eyes, and tried to calm her mind, so that she could begin to meditate.

Ahsoka knelt down on the rocky floor, taking in deep breaths, and attempting to calm herself. The whispers seemed to get quieter, as soon as she was able to calm her mind, and center herself in the Force. She took a deep breath again, and exhaled long, her eyes closed, and her heartbeat calming down fast. In a few moments, she was completely calm, entering a state of deep meditation, for the first time in a long while. The aura of the Force calmed her, and brought her a sense of warmth, erasing the coldness she had felt earlier.

After a few moments of meditation, nothing happened. Ahsoka slowly opened her eyes, biting her lip. She felt calm, but the fact that nothing was happening started to make her feel distracted again. The whispers suddenly stopped altogether, and a complete silence fell upon the shrine. Ahsoka's eyes widened slightly, as that happened, and she quickly looked around, her heartbeat increasing again. Frowning slightly, the togruta hummed quietly to herself, not seeing or sensing anything. The absence of the creepy whispers made her feel worried, though. After several seconds of complete silence, she could suddenly hear something behind her.

"You feel distracted.. worried. They emit a very distinctive aura around you..." An unknown female voice said quietly, echoing slightly.

Ahsoka's eyes widened, and she swiftly jumped up to her feet. She grabbed her lightsaber hilt, and activated the weapon, turning around in an instant, and pointing the green energy blade at the unidentified person behind her. To her shock and utter surprise, Ahsoka could see a bright blue-hued glowing apparition of a togruta female in front of her. The togruta woman silently stared at the young girl, a stoic expression on her glowing, transparent face.

Ahsoka couldn't believe her eyes: she was looking at a spirit, a _Force ghost_. Sometimes after death, Force users, usually Jedi, could be seen by others as apparitions and spirits, outside of the _Netherworld of the Force_. The Netherworld was a theorized plane of existence, where the souls of Force sensitive beings passed on after death. Several Jedi had returned as ghosts from this realm over the course of the Order's history, yet no one had been able to find out exactly why, or how these particular Jedi were able to defy the will of the Force, and not stay in the Netherworld with all the other souls. Sith were thought to be unable to manifest themselves as ghosts, and instead were required to possess mortal bodies, in order to stay out of the afterlife.

"Your hands are shaking. Lower your lightsaber, child... I mean you no harm.." The ghost assured, calmly motioning with her hand at Ahsoka to lower her lightsaber's blade. The young togruta girl could see that the spirit of the fellow togruta wore Jedi-like robes, though slightly different from the ones that the Order used today.

"Who... who are you!? What do you want from me?" She asked the apparition, her voice trembling, and her hands still shaking. The togruta ghost simply tilted her head slightly, and stared at the young girl.

"I presume that this is the will of the Force. The Galaxy is facing dark times once again, and you seem to be in the middle of it. You are in desperate need of guidance.. and so I was drawn here, to this small shrine, on a planet I haven't visited for generations..." The female ghost replied, to which Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, as she slowly lowered her lightsaber from pointing at the spirit.

"I don't understand.. how could you be drawn here? Who are you..?" She asked, deactivating her lightsaber, and placing it on her belt. Ahsoka felt uneasy, but the togruta ghost at least seemed friendly.

The ghost smiled, her blue eyes gazing at the younger togruta. Ahsoka could see that the ghost had a lighter yellowish skin color than her, as well as different face markings. But other than that, she seemed eerily similar to the young girl, which made Ahsoka raise her eyebrow further.

"I am more like you than you could imagine, young Ahsoka. I too was a Jedi once, but like you.. I left the Order to pursue my own destiny. I found purpose, faced many dangers.. but in the end, I fulfilled my destiny, and became something greater. Our paths seem similar, I think that with my help.. you too can become something far greater than you could possibly imagine..." The togruta spirit answered in a benevolent voice. Ahsoka frowned slightly, rubbing her neck. She had no idea who this togruta was, nor did she know why exactly she was appearing in front of her.

"You still didn't tell me who you are.." She said to the ghost, whose eyes widened slightly, after which she smiled again, and spread her arms slightly.

"It has been so many years since I've heard my name.. but I still remember. I was named _Ashara Zavros_.. and I was a Jedi countless generations before your birth. I fought in wars that spanned years across the entire Galaxy.. and years after it all had ended, I became a mother... a mother to the most beautiful children there could be. Countless of years later, you were born.." The ghost replied with a smile, which caused Ahsoka's eyes to widen. Was she saying what the young girl thought she was? The ghost of Ashara Zavros smiled wider, chuckling quietly.

"Yes.. I am your ancestor, child." The togruta spirit said with a smile, to which the younger girl raised her eyebrows. She took a step back, not believing what she was hearing.

"Wait.. what? How could that be? I'm not a Zavros.. I'm a _Tano_.." Ahsoka said back to the ghost, who simply chuckled again.

"Indeed.. yet it has been many generations since my lifetime, Ahsoka. In that time, our family surname could have changed many times." Ashara replied, which made the younger girl bite her lip, and hum quietly. It did make sense, especially since Ahsoka knew nothing about her family's extended history. She didn't even remember her own parents well.

"Okay.. so you're my ancestor. But why exactly are you here? You said that I need guidance. Guidance to do what..?" The young togruta asked, to which the ghost simply nodded her head.

"As I said.. you have the potential to become something great, Ahsoka. You have powers in you, that have gone unnoticed your whole life.." Ashara explained, which made Ahsoka raise her eyebrows again.

"What powers..?" She asked a bit carefully, not sure if she even wanted to know. The ghost of her ancestor smiled, and took a step towards her.

"If you're willing to have me tag along with you.. I can show you." The glowing spirit replied. Ahsoka folded her arms, humming quietly, and frowning a bit.

"I don't think I have much choice.. I'd assume that a ghost can go anywhere." She said to the ghost, who chuckled as a response.

"True, but I seem to be tied to you, due to our shared blood, Ahsoka. Therefore, I can only manifest myself near you. So.. do you want to tap in to your true powers, and become stronger than you could imagine?" Ashara asked, smiling at the young togruta. Ahsoka bit her lip, not exactly being sure. The ghost of her ancestor seemed to be a bit too eager to help her become stronger.

"I... I'm not sure.." The young girl answered, rubbing her arms slightly, as she looked around nervously, being unsure about her ancestor's suggestion. Ashara smile faded slightly, as she opened her mouth.

"I must warn you, though. The powers you're naturally strong with might not be aligned to the Light Side of the Force, Ahsoka. Now, since you've already left the life of a Jedi behind you.. are you ready to walk the path between the two sides, and in turn become stronger than before?" The togruta spirit asked, placing her hands behind her back. Ahsoka's eyes widened, and he felt her heart skip a beat.

"You want me to use the Dark Side? Even if I'm not a Jedi anymore, I won't let myself fall to the darkness.." She replied, to which the glowing spirit shook her head as a response.

"No, I don't mean that, child. There exists a third way.. a path between the Light and the Dark. Attuning yourself to walk between the two principles allows you to be stronger than both the Jedi and the Sith. You will need that power to prepare for the difficult times to come.." Ashara explained in a calm voice. The young girl in front of her scoffed, shrugging her shoulders.

"What difficult times? Do you know what's going to happen in the future?" Ahsoka asked in a demanding tone, squeezing her hands. She didn't know what her ancestor tried to play with.

"I don't know what will happen... all I know is that the aura of the Force has changed drastically.. and it is changing right now. We all can feel it... something big is going to happen soon, Ahsoka.. and you will be at the heart of it." Ashara answered, to which the young togruta girl bit her lip, and sighed in slight frustration.

"And because of that, I need to use dark powers?" She asked, trying to make some sense out of the situation. The spirit in front of her was quiet for a moment, before nodding.

"Yes.. they will help you in the battles yet to come. Don't you want to do what's necessary to keep your friends and loved ones safe? I know that you care deeply for them, Ahsoka.." Ashara asked, calmly staring at Ahsoka, whose eyes widened again, and she bit her lip harder.

If what her ancestor was saying was true, then she'd need every help she could get, in order to survive whatever was to come, and also keep her friends safe. Ashara's ominous words haunted her, as she felt afraid of the possibilities of what could happen in the future. But no matter what, she could tell that dark times were upon them, and she'd need to be ready for that, whether or not she actually wanted it.

"I... yeah.. I care for my friends.. and the people I love. Fine.. if you think that I should learn those powers I'm supposedly strong with. What do I need to do..?" Ahsoka then asked, giving in to her ancestor's wishes. Ashara smiled warmly then, giving her descendant an approving nod.

"I'm afraid that I can't teach you, Ahsoka... but I know someone who can.." The spirit answered, which made the young togruta raise her eyebrow, though staying quiet.

"You must travel back to the world you were born on; Shili. There is a tomb on that planet, where you will find the spirit of a powerful Force user, who can teach you to harness your undiscovered powers..." Ashara continued, to which her young descendand raised her eyebrows further, folding her arms.

She had not been back to her homeworld of _Shili_ , the world of origin for the togruta, ever since she was taken from the planet by Master Plo Koon, when he discovered her there nearly seventeen years ago. It'd be weird to return to that place, especially since she didn't know if her parents were still alive there somewhere.

"How do you know about that tomb..?" Ahsoka asked, suspicious about her ancestor's knowledge. The togruta ghost simply chuckled, a wide smile on her face.

"Because it is the place where I buried my husband.. the father of my children. He's your ancestor like I am.." Ashara replied, to which her descendant let out a quiet "ah" as a response. Ahsoka didn't even know what else she was expecting.

"So I go to Shili, and just happen to come across this tomb of my ancestor? Or will you guide me there..?" She asked, feeling a bit skeptical. Her ancestor simply smiled again, and took a step towards her, spreading her arms.

"We are family, Ahsoka.. you will be drawn to the tomb of my love, as I was drawn here. You will know where to go, once you're there.." The ghost of Ashara explained in a friendly manner, to which Ahsoka hummed quietly to herself. She then sighed quietly, and nodded.

"Okay.. I'll do that then. Will I see you again, Ashara..?" The young girl asked, which made the glowing spirit let out a quiet laugh, and nod.

"I'm tied to you, child, remember? I will be with you all the way, until my guidance is no longer needed. Now go... seek out the tomb of my husband, and begin your path to a wider world. May the Force be with you, Ahsoka..." Ashara said benevolently, bowing her head ever so slightly to the young togruta, who raised her eyebrow. Before she could answer, Ahsoka blinked, and could then see that her ancestor's ghost was gone, the moment she opened her eyes again.

The young girl looked around quickly, trying to locate the ghost again. Ashara was gone, however, having left the material world again, for the time being at least. Ahsoka sighed quickly, as she stroked her chin. The whispers from earlier had now completely disappeared, and the cavern shrine was eerily, yet oddly comfortably silent.

She then shook her head quickly, starting to make her way out of the cave. She felt weird about what just had happened. Ahsoka had no idea if her ancestor had good intentions, even though she seemed to be sincere. The young togruta's desire to keep the people she cared for safe outweighed her doubts about the dark powers she was powerful with. Ahsoka wasn't sure if she even wanted to know, what these powers were. She also wasn't sure about the concept of walking between the Light and the Dark, as she felt that falling to the darkness could possibly be far too easy at that point.

Sighing again, she decided not to make her head ache from over thinking the situation. Walking to the cramped tunnel again, the young girl made her way out of the cavern shrine, and towards the cave exit. She hoped that Ventress and the Solos would understand her reasons to go to Shili, and accompany her there. She had grown to like the human pilot and her son, and wished that they'd stay with her and her dathomirian friend, as they'd continue to travel the Galaxy in search of answers.

Ahsoka knew that her mission was dangerous, and she wished no harm to come to Han, or his father. Yet she had come to realize, that having friends around was important to her, and made her travels that much easier, especially on mental level. She had been by herself for months, only looking after her own interests. Though Ahsoka had gotten used to that, she couldn't deny that she enjoyed a life with friends and people she cared about close to her much better, than a life of loneliness.

She had moved to Tatooine in order to escape her guilt, her regrets and the pain she felt inside. But now she had realized that in her desperation to escape her problems, they had only grown worse. Facing them head on had cleared her mind, and made her happy again. She had found her lost love with Anakin again, and that filled her with so much determination, that nothing in the Galaxy would stop her from reclaiming that love once again. Ahsoka knew that whatever her ancestor had in mind for her, it had a chance of helping her get back to Anakin as well. And that was something the young girl was sure that her ancestor's spirit knew as well...


	16. Chapter 15: Tragedy of Darth Plagueis

**Chapter 15: Tragedy of Darth Plagueis**

 **Nine months earlier...**

The dorsal hangar section of the Venator-class star destroyer Steadfast was teeming with clone troopers and officers running around, busily preparing dozens of Z-95 Headhunter starfighters, and BTL-B Y-wing bombers for combat. The ship's pilots also worked on their vehicles, getting ready for an imminent battle. The Steadfast was the current flagship of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, after he had lost his previous ship, the Resolute during the Battle of Sullust, over a year and a half earlier.

There had existed another Venator-class star destroyer named the Steadfast before, acting as the flagship of the zabrak Jedi Master Eeth Koth. The ship was destroyed during a battle against General Grievous over two years ago, however, and so the name was passed on to a newly built Venator-class ship, which eventually found its way into the command of Anakin.

Among the many fighters, bombers and gunships, were two Eta-2 Actis-class interceptors, utilized by the Jedi commanders of the upcoming battle, Anakin and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano. The young togruta Jedi Padawan was crouched down next to her spacecraft, which was customized with a wine red and white paintjob, with some greenish parts here and there. As the young girl checked the stabilizers on her personal starship, her astromech droid _R7-A4_ chirped, and moved his dome head, as he was placed in the astromech droid socket on the ship.

"I know, I know, R7. I'm trying to figure out if the stabilizer is not working. Are you sure you're detecting a problem with the ship?" Ahsoka asked, as she checked some mechanical parts on the underside of the interceptor craft. Her astromech droid let out a chirp, and a beep, which caused the togruta girl to roll her eyes.

"Then why did you even say that the stabilizer is acting up? You really need your processors updated, R7.." She said, standing up, as her droid blurted out something unintelligible, shaking his dome head, which made his owner roll her eyes again. The togruta girl could then hear footsteps behind her.

"Something wrong with your ship, Snips?" Anakin's voice asked, which made Ahsoka jump slightly, as she had not expected her master to be right behind her. She turned around quickly, biting her lip, as she sat down on her ship's wing.

"Oh, R7 is just having some issues with his sensors.. there's nothing wrong with my ship, master." She explained quickly, looking around the hangar bay, as she leaned on her ship's side. Anakin raised his eyebrow, chuckling quietly. He was standing in front of his own Eta-2 Actis ship, which was painted in his favorite coloration; yellow and dark grey.

"R2 is way older than your droid, and he's never had issues with his sensors." The human man boasted, to which his apprentice scoffed quietly, shaking her head with a smirk. R2-D2, who had just placed himself in Anakin's ship's droid socket, chirped in a cheeky manner, to which R7 replied with an annoyed grunt.

"Well, aren't you lucky, Anakin." Ahsoka replied in a sarcastic tone, to which her master responded with a chuckle. After a moment, Anakin then cleared his throat, returning to more serious business.

"Are you nervous? It won't be long until we need to lift off.. the Seppies aren't going to drive themselves off this planet." The human Jedi Knight asked, wanting to make sure that his Padawan wasn't distracted.

They were approaching the lower atmosphere of the Confederate held world of _Cato Neimoidia_ , one of the several colonies of the neimoidians. The planet had been under Republic siege for a bit over a week now, with the Separatist forces holding strong. Anakin and Ahsoka were dispatched with the 501st to try and break the droid defenses around the "bridge city" of _Kalai_.

"Nah, it's fine.. we're used to this kind of business, aren't we, Skyguy?" Ahsoka asked back, folding her arms now, and smirking slightly. She did feel nervous, even if she didn't admit to it. Going to battle was always nerve-racking, no matter how used to it the young togruta had become. Anakin let out a laugh, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah.. we sure are, Snips." The young human man replied, chuckling slightly. The two of them had faced many dangers, and survived countless of battles together over the course of the Clone Wars.

As the dozens of clones all around them kept busy, focused on their tasks, Anakin quickly looked around. As Ahsoka looked the other way for a second, she didn't notice her Jedi Master quickly stepping over to her. Anakin subtly wrapped his arms around the young togruta, who gasped quietly from surprise. Ahsoka looked up at the human man, who smirked slightly, as he moved his face closer to her.

"I liked the way you woke me up this morning, by the way.." Anakin whispered, his face close to the togruta's, whose eyes widened. Ahsoka blushed slightly, and bit her lip, moving her hand on her master's back.

"Well.. I'm glad to hear that. I certainly enjoyed it too.." She replied back to the young man, her hand now touching the back of his head, brushing his hair. Anakin smirked, and moved his lips close to Ahsoka's. He hoped that the clones around them were too busy to notice the two cuddling Jedi.

"Wanna continue from where we left off, once we get back?" He asked quietly, his lips almost touching the togruta girl's. Ahsoka sighed slightly, feeling heat all over her body. She hated the fact that they were heading into battle, because now she wanted to get back to Anakin's cabin, and his bed so badly.

"You don't even have to ask, Ani.." The young and slightly panting togruta girl replied, biting her lip one last time. She then pulled Anakin's lips against hers, kissing him softly, but passionately.

The two lovers kissed each other for a few long seconds, giving all of their passion and love into the kiss. Ahsoka ran her fingers through Anakin's hair, who in turn pushed her slightly against her starship. R2 and R7 witnessed the entire ordeal, cheekily beeping and chirping at each other. After a moment, the two Jedi parted from each other, Ahsoka letting out a long, yet happy sigh. She gently touched her master's, and lover's cheek, looking into his eyes.

"Let's make sure we finish the droids quickly... I want to spend as much time as I can with you today.. and preferably alone in your cabin.." The young girl said, biting her lip, as she wanted nothing more than to just make love to the human man, who smirked back at her.

"I'll be sure to destroy the Seppies in quick fashion. We'll be back to my cabin before you know it... and can take some time off for relaxing.. just the two of us." Anakin assured, to which his Padawan, and secret lover grinned, and winked her eye at him.

"I'll hold you to that promise, Skyguy. Let's get to it then.." Ahsoka replied, which made her human Jedi Master smile, and nod in agreement. As the two of them stared at each other with loving eyes for a few seconds more, a clone officer suddenly jogged up to them.

"General Skywalker! We are ready!" The clone stated, saluting the two Jedi. Anakin smirked, and nodded, quickly turning to his Eta-2 Actis-class fighter, and boarding it, moving himself into the cockpit. Ahsoka did the same, following in her master's suit.

"Alright then, let's scrap some droids!" The human Jedi Knight exclaimed cheerily, as he put on a headset, and pushed several buttons on his starfighter's dashboard, turning on its systems. Ahsoka rolled her eyes slightly, as she smiled, and did the same with her fighter.

In the following moments, the Venator-class star destroyer's dorsal hangar bay's doors slowly slid open. The dozens of ships prepared in the several hangars turned on their engines, and quickly lifted off from the floor. Anakin and Ahsoka moved their starfighters in front, as they flew out of the hangar bay, dozens of Z-95 fighters and Y-wing bombers following them closely.

In less than a minute, the Steadfast's dorsal hangar bay was largely empty, as all the starships ready for combat had disembarked. The fleet of ships then headed towards the bridged cityscape of Kalai, and quickly approached the Separatist fleet guarding it. The following battle would hopefully be a turning point in the fight for Cato Neimoidia's control, as the two Jedi commanders hoped to punch through the droid defenses in quick fashion, and pave way for the reinforcing armies of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Plo Koon to secure the rest of the planet.

Only time would tell if they'd be successful, but considering the recent major defeats the Confederacy of Independent Systems had suffered, a victory here on Cato Neimoidia was probable as well. Even though the war was not near it's end yet, the Republic was winning at the moment, and they were not showing any signs of stopping their offensive. The Separatist Alliance would sooner or later fall, as the Clone Wars would finally come to an end, and the Galaxy would begin its long process of rebuilding the hundreds of worlds the bloody and destructive war had devastated.

 **Present day...**

The faint light from one of Coruscant's moons shined through the window blinds in Anakin Skywalker's personal quarters, in the Jedi Temple. It was late in the night, and the Jedi inside the Temple had mostly retired to their quarters, in order to get some goodnight's rest. Anakin himself was deeply asleep in his bed as well, having stayed in the Temple for the rest of the day, after having been proclaimed as a Jedi Master, and a member of the High Council.

Sounds of heavy breathing and quiet groans filled the air inside the room, as Anakin violently moved around on his bed, sweating heavily. The young man was having nightmares, his mind filled with horrifying images of his loved ones being killed in all kinds of horrible ways. He could see his togruta lover Ahsoka being killed by a red bladed lightsaber, being wielded by a figure shrouded in complete darkness. The haunting voice of his lover echoed in his mind, calling out to him, as she died.

"NO!" Anakin screamed, as he suddenly woke up, sitting up on his bed in an instant. The young Jedi Master panted heavily, his entire body soaked from sweat.

He looked around, realizing that he had only seen a dream, and was in reality still safe and sound inside his quarters. Anakin sighed long, burying his face in his hands, his body shivering slightly. The nightmare he had about Ahsoka was eerily similar to the ones he had had about his mother, in the months and weeks leading up to her death, over three years ago.

Anakin had long been plagued by dreams, that acted as visions, warning him of terrible things, that could happen in the future. While not all of his nightmares had come true, the young man feared them above anything else. If he had now seen nightmares of Ahsoka more than once, each ending with her dying, he feared that they were in fact visions, warning him of the future.

Sighing again, the young Jedi Master calmed himself down. He had not heard anything from his lover Ahsoka, not since they were separated during the attack onboard the Peacekeeper. He did not even know if Ahsoka's injuries had been treated. He only knew that the young togruta girl was still alive, at least for the moment.

Lying back down on the mattress, Anakin bit his lip, his breathing finally calming down. He pulled the blanket over his topless torso, and sighed deeply, wanting to go back to sleep. The thoughts about Ahsoka possibly dying kept bothering him though, and he felt more and more stressed. He was deathly afraid of his lover dying, to a lightsaber blade, or any other cause. He still remembered how enraged he had gotten, after his mother had died in his arms, having been tortured to death by the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine. Retaliation for killing his mother, the young man had slaughtered the entire sand people village, all the way down to the last child and infant.

He was afraid what Ahsoka's death would force him to do. Even when he had only thought that she was dying, when Barriss Offee had stabbed her in the back, he had given himself to the Dark Side, and attacked the mirialan woman with more rage and hatred than he had ever felt before. If Ahsoka would actually die one day, Anakin feared just what kind of monstrosities it would bring out in him.

Trying not to think about those things, he sighed yet again, as he turned on his side, and closed his eyes, trying to catch some sleep. He knew that since he was a Jedi Master now, and a member of the Council, he'd need to keep his mind clear and focused on the mission they had given him. Still, these bothering thoughts were something that he wished that he could confer about with Master Yoda. The old and wise Grand Master of the Jedi Order had always offered his advice and support to him, when times were difficult. But, since Yoda was fighting on the wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk at the moment, Anakin knew that he couldn't share his worries with him. He couldn't confide in with his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi either, as he too was out in the Galaxy, still fighting the last of the Separatists.

In the following moments, the tormented human Jedi Master fell asleep again, as the white light from one of Coruscant's moons continued to beam through the blinds on his windows. Morning sun would rise in several hours, and a new day would dawn. Anakin wished that his bothersome thoughts would subside, so that he could keep his mind focused. He would need all the focus he could get, in order to complete the mission he had been given by his Jedi colleagues. The Sith were still out there, and he'd need to find them, and destroy them, so that he could one day hope to retire from the life of a Jedi, and live a normal life with his love Ahsoka, somewhere far away from all the problems of the Galaxy.

 **...**

The Corellian YT-1300 series light freighter Stellar Envoy laid dormant in one of the docking bays, in the city of Voss-Ka. The ship's pilot Jonash Solo, quietly whistled to himself, as he sat on a cargo box, flipping a gold coin in his hands, that was originally a commemorative coin, given to _Corellian Security Force_ officers for years of service. Before finding himself living the life of a smuggler, Jonash had spent years working as a _CorSec_ officer in Coronet City. After the death of his wife, he and his son Han had left Corellia, and pursued a rather successful life as smugglers, commandeering the old, yet reliable Stellar Envoy.

The human man's thoughts and activities were interrupted, as he could then notice three people entering the docking bay, and walking towards him. Putting away the coin, Jonash could see his acquaintances Asajj Ventress and Ahsoka Tano approaching him, along with them the voss healer who managed to treat the young togruta's grave injuries. The bearded man jumped off the box he was sitting on, spreading his arms as he took a step at the approaching women.

"I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see you two again. These voss can certainly make a man worried... with their freaky looking eyes and such.." Jonash said with a slight smirk, after which his eyes then wandered to Tana-Rey, who probably had heard his little quip. The human man bit his lip, and lifted his hands up defensively.

"No offence, of course.." He then quickly said, to which the young voss female slightly tilted her head, apparently not having heard the human man's comments. Ventress placed her hand on her waist, raising her eyebrow as she stared at Jonash.

"I told you that I'd come back to torment you some more, Solo.. and that's exactly what I plan on doing.." The dathomirian woman said, a smirk forming on her face, as she winked her eye at the human, whose expression turned a bit more uncomfortable.

"Yeah.. great.." He replied, rubbing the back of his neck. After that, Ventress' smirk faded, as she looked at Ahsoka.

"Are you sure about this? Who knows what sort of powers that ghost pal of yours wants you to learn? They could be way too dangerous.." She said, voicing her concerns to the young togruta, who had recently told her and Tana-Rey about the spirit of her ancestor, that she had encountered inside the cave.

"This Ashara Zavros visited Voss eons ago... I remember seeing reports of that in our ancient archives. Back then she travelled aboard a vessel belonging to the Sith Empire.." The voss female chimed in, standing next to Ventress and Ahsoka. Hearing that made the dathomirian frown slightly.

"A Sith vessel? Great! Now we really know that your ancestor trifled with dark powers. Seriously, Ahsoka.. this is a bad idea.." Ventress said, as she looked at the young togruta, who sighed, and shrugged her shoulders.

"I really have no idea, but if what she said about something big happening soon is true.. we'll need all the help we can get. I need that power, if I'm to survive what's to come, and keep my friends safe.." Ahsoka replied, to which the dathomirian woman sighed, and shook her head.

"We can take care of ourselves, we don't need any Dark Side powers. Right, Solo..?" She then said, quickly glancing at the human pilot, who clearly had no idea, what was being said at the moment.

"A what now...?" The man asked, rubbing the back of his head again. Ventress rolled her eyes, and waved her hand dismissively at him.

"Never mind. But as I said, Ahsoka.. you don't need to learn some dangerous new powers to keep us safe. We can do that ourselves..." She said to Ahsoka, who bit her lip, and shrugged her shoulders again.

"Then I'll do it for myself, and Anakin. I'll take any risk there is, if it means that I can one day live a happy life with him.." The young girl replied, to which her dathomirian friend sighed again, before slowly nodding.

"Just keep in mind that those powers might actually prohibit you from reaching that goal, Ahsoka... but if you're sure about this, then I'm with you." Ventress stated, as she placed her hand on Ahsoka's shoulder reassuringly. Tana-Rey smiled, and got the two's attention by bowing slightly.

"As am I, if you'll have me, Lady Tano." The voss female said graciously, which caused both the togruta girl, and the dathomirian next to her raise their eyebrows in surprise.

"You.. want to travel with us, Tana?" Ahsoka asked, having never imagined that the young voss female would even be interested in leaving her planet. Tana-Rey smiled, and cheerily nodded her head.

"Yes.. it is only appropriate that I continue to lend my support to you, in your times of seeking out your destiny. I feel that the path you are walking is intertwined with the fate of the Galaxy, and what would it say about me, if I didn't do everything in my power to help you reach your goals? Besides.. it'd be exciting to leave my home for once." She replied with an innocent smile, which made the young togruta giggle ever so slightly. Ahsoka quickly glanced at Ventress, who simply shrugged her shoulders, not having an opinion. The young girl then looked back at the eager voss female, and folded her arms.

"Aren't you needed here, at the Shrine of Healing?" She asked, to which the voss healer quickly shook her head.

"There are over three hundred healers working at the Shrine. They will be fine, even if I'm not around to lend my expertise for a while.." Tana-Rey explained, after which Ahsoka let out a quiet "ah" noise, and nodded in understanding. She then smiled slightly, seeing no problem with taking the voss along them in their adventures.

"Yeah.. you can come along. I guess I owe you that, after you healed my injuries.." She said with a smile, as she went on to offer her hand to Tana-Rey, in order to ratify their alliance with a handshake. The young voss female tilted her head slightly, seemingly not being aware of such a custom. As Ahsoka bit her lip, sheepishly pulling away her hand, Ventress turned her attention to Jonash, who stood around near them.

"Is that alright with you, Solo? We're going to need a ride out of here.." The dathomirian woman asked, folding her arms. The human pilot scratched the back of his head, glancing at the three women in front of him, his mouth open.

"Uuh... sure..? I assume you guys know where you want to go..?" Jonash asked, rubbing his hands together quickly, as his eyes glanced between the three women. Ahsoka nodded in acknowledgment, as she turned her attention from Tana-Rey to the pilot as well.

"Yeah.. I need to get to Shili." The togruta girl explained in quick fashion, which made the human man respond with a slight chuckle.

"Feeling a little homesick?" He asked, winking his eye at the young girl, who raised her eyebrows.

Ahsoka wasn't surprised that the human man assumed Shili to be her homeplanet, as most togruta in the Galaxy did hail from the species' homeworld, even though they had colonized other planets, such as Kiros. Before she could reply, Ventress scoffed quietly next to her.

"It would go over your head anyway, if she told you the reason, Solo.." The dathomirian uttered, to which the human pilot bit his lip, and scratched the back of his head again, nodding.

"Yeah.. probably. Okay, well.. hop on in the Envoy, then. I made sure that the ship is ready for takeoff... can't be too careful with these voss.." Jonash replied, as he turned around, and started to head towards the Corellian freighter. As Tana-Rey heard that, she titled her head slightly again, after which the human pilot quickly turned back around, and bit his lip, staring at the voss female.

"No offence again.." The man said, as he then made his way onboard the Stellar Envoy, walking up the boarding ramp.

After that, Ventress patted Ahsoka's shoulder quickly, as she followed Solo into the ship. Tana-Rey did the same, slowly, and rather carefully making her way into the rugged, yet fast light freighter. Ahsoka stayed back for a moment, gathering her thoughts, and taking a few deep breaths.

After her companions had disappeared from view, the young togruta could suddenly feel a cold breeze flow through her body, making her shiver slightly. Clenching her teeth together, she looked to her right, and could notice the glowing body of her ancestor Ashara Zavros' ghost appearing next to her. The spirit of the togruta female smiled, as she glanced at her descendant.

"You travel with interesting company, child. Reminds me of my own adventures with a similar ragtag group of individuals.." Ashara explained, which made her descendant raise her eyebrow. Ahsoka did not know much about the time, when her ancestor supposedly lived.

"Is that so? What kind of people accompanied you..?" She asked, though feeling a bit unsure about the fact that her ancestor had travelled aboard a Sith vessel. Ashara was quiet for a moment, before smiling again, seemingly thinking back to the time she was still alive.

"There was a fearless kaleesh Sith Lord, and a roguish, yet oddly caring pirate from the Outer Rim. I also remember a rather short, and eccentric human archeologist, and a fearsome warrior monster, who ate Force-sensitive adversaries..." The togruta female explained, which made Ahsoka raise her eyebrows further. The Force user eating monster part especially made the young girl feel uncomfortable. Her ancestor then looked down at the ground, letting out a quiet laugh.

"And then, of course... there was my love.." Ashara said quieter, to which her descendant folded her arms, humming quietly.

"Your love? You mean the father of your children... my other ancestor?" Ahsoka asked, wondering just who her ancestor's mysterious Force user lover was. Ashara chuckled, and nodded, as he looked back at the young girl.

"Yes. You'll meet him soon enough, Ahsoka. I hope that his spirit is still there, at his tomb. I haven't been there for generations..." She replied in a calm manner. Ahsoka bit her lip, slightly, and nodded in understanding. She too hoped that her ancestor's spirit would still be present at the tomb, or else she'd never be able to learn her undiscovered powers.

"Will I see you on Shili? I'd like some warning before you appear... the surprise and coldness aren't exactly comfortable, even if you are my ancestor.." The young girl stated, her arms folded, to which the older togruta female chuckled as a response.

"I can make no promises.. at the end of the day, I cannot completely control my ability of appearing in front of you. Sometimes the Force simply won't allow me. But I will see you at my husband's tomb.. that I can assure you of.." Ashara explained, which made her young descendant sigh, and nod in understanding.

"Got it.. I guess I'm off to Shili then. Wish me luck... great great great something grandmother..." Ahsoka said, as she begun to walk towards the boarding ramp of the Stellar Envoy. She couldn't deny that her entire situation felt a bit ridiculous. As she walked up the boarding ramp, her ancestor's spirit smiled, looking after the young girl.

"It'll all make sense soon, little one. He will set you on the right path.." Ashara said to herself, as she looked on the young togruta girl entering the Corellian light freighter. She then smiled for a moment, before her glowing spirit form dissipated once again, as she left the material world.

In the following moments, as Ahsoka made her way further into the Stellar Envoy, Jonash and his son Han prepared the ship for takeoff. Inside a few minutes, the ship's systems came online, its engines igniting and powering up. The boarding ramp slowly closed, sealing the main hold of the ship, as the Envoy got ready for liftoff. Soon they'd leave the mysterious world of Voss behind them, and head to the togruta homeworld of Shili.

Ahsoka was still unsure about her future, and her apparent destiny, but she hoped that travelling to her place of birth, and seeking out her ancestor's tomb would offer her some much needed answers. With luck, her ancestor's spirit would still be there, and be willing to teach her the untold secrets of the Force, which would help her survive whatever was to come in the near future. The young togruta didn't even know if she truly believed her ancestor Ashara's words, but she was willing to risk it, as she could only hope that doing so would lead her closer to getting back to Anakin.

 **...**

The noon sunlight from Coruscant Prime shine upon the Jedi Temple, making the white and beige colored massive temple nearly glow in the sunlight. The sunrays shined through the window blinds inside a Jedi Master's private quarters, bringing a moody atmosphere to the small room. In the middle of the room were two pieces of tufted meditation pads, on top of which Jedi Master's Aayla Secura, and Anakin Skywalker sat.

The window blinds darkened the room, only a few beams of sunlight coming through, and shining upon the two Jedi, who silently sat on their seats. The twi'lek Jedi Master hummed quietly, as she looked at Anakin, sitting in a lotus position.

"This dream isn't the first one you've had?" Aayla asked in a soft voice, looking at the young human man, who silently nodded, sitting in a more hunched position, staring down at the floor.

"No.. I've seen it before. They're similar to the ones I had about my mother.. years ago..." Anakin replied quietly, feeling distracted and anguished.

He hadn't been able to take his mind off the dream he had seen last night, where he saw his love Ahsoka being killed. He had come before one of the only Jedi who knew about his relationship with his Padawan, to seek some guidance. As kind and caring as she was, Aayla had asked him to come to her private meditation room, in her quarters, so that they could talk there.

"And your mother ended up dying, just as your dreams indicated.." The twi'lek woman replied, partially to herself, as she knew about Anakin's mother dying a few years ago, after he had foreseen it in countless nightmares. The young human nodded his head slowly.

"Yeah... and now I have those same dreams about Ahsoka. I'm afraid that she'll die.." He answered after a moment, his voice trembling a bit. Aayla looked at him, a worried expression on her face.

"We all have bad dreams, Anakin. Perhaps you're only seeing them, because you miss her so much?" She asked, trying to ease the young man's worries slightly. Anakin sighed, shaking his head.

"And what if they're showing me the future? I already lost her once, and she almost died recently... I can't let it happen.. I can't lose her again." The human Jedi Master replied, to which the twi'lek female sighed as well, before taking in a short breath.

"Your fear of losing her could become an obsession. Such things lead to the Dark Side, Anakin. For your own sake, fight against it... don't lose hope.." Aayla stated quietly, unable to deny her own fears about the young human, and his dark tendencies. She needed to try to keep Anakin calm and focused, so that he wouldn't lose himself in his depression and sorrow.

"I saw my mother die in my dreams, and only a few weeks later, she died in my arms. I can't let that happen to Ahsoka... and I won't.." The man replied, his voice low and determined, and a frown on his face, which worried the twi'lek Jedi Master further. Aayla bit her lip, and sighed.

"Death is a natural part of life. None of us live forever.. and you're not all-powerful. You cannot save everyone from death, even if you wanted to... there are no such powers that would allow that.." She noted, trying to talk some sense to the young human man, who frowned, and slowly stood up from his seat. Anakin sighed deeply, looking at his Jedi colleague.

"You're right... but I wish there was.." He answered in a quiet, monotone voice, as he then proceeded to walk out of the meditation room. Anakin could then suddenly feel the soft touch of Aayla's hand, grabbing his wrist. He raised his eyebrows, and glanced at the twi'lek, who stared at him.

"Anakin, please listen to me. Let go of your fears.. they will give you nothing but more suffering. Learn to find comfort in the memories you have with Ahsoka, and give yourself hope, that one day you'll meet her again... whether it is in this life, or in the afterlife.." She said, her voice sounding sincere and caring. Anakin bit his lip, squeezing his hand into a fist.

"I'll die before I let anything happen to her again... no one will ever harm her.." He simply replied, turning around again. Aayla sighed audibly, and jumped up from her seat, and caught Anakin, as he was leaving the room.

The twi'lek Jedi Master grabbed the human man's hand, and turned him around, so that he was facing her. Aayla got really close to him, forcing him to look straight into her hazel colored eyes. Anakin raised his eyebrows, not sure what his colleague was trying.

"And no harm shall come to her, but only if you learn to control your emotions, and focus on what's important at the moment.." Aayla said in a strict, but soft and calm voice, to which her human colleague let out a quiet hum. The twi'lek woman was taller than the average females in her species, only about ten centimeters shorter than Anakin.

"Nothing is more important to me, than keeping Ahsoka safe.." The human Jedi Master replied nonchalantly, which made Aayla sigh deeply, and shake her head. Before Anakin could leave, she suddenly framed his face with her hands, once again making him look straight into her eyes. She came even closer to him, their noses practically touching each other. Aayla wasn't about to let this fly.

"Anakin! You're the strongest and most gifted one of us.. you are the Chosen One! We need you right here, with us, if we're to have any chance at finding and defeating the Sith. Please trust me with this, and try to focus... Ahsoka will be fine.." She assured, looking deep into Anakin's blue eyes. The human man bit his lip, not really knowing how to respond.

"And what if she'll be in danger soon? I need to be there to keep her safe.." He answered, to which the twi'lek woman sighed, her hands still framing Anakin's face.

"Then I'll personally come with you to find her. But for now.. please... stay here, and keep your mind clear and focused. We have a lot to do, if we're to end the Republic's wars, and defeat the Sith once and for all.." Aayla then said, staring into Anakin's eyes still. The young man sighed deeply, thinking about the entire situation.

He wanted to just give up on his mission, and leave to find Ahsoka. His dreams made the young man distressed, and he desired nothing more than to keep his lover safe, from any and all dangers she could face in the future. But Aayla made a point, a point Anakin hated admitting. He knew that he had a duty, a sacred, if not even divine duty, to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force. No matter his desire to just be with the woman he loved for the rest of his live, Anakin knew that if he abandoned his duties, he himself would always regret not helping the Jedi defeat the Sith. And by the sound of Aayla's words, the Jedi could not even defeat the Sith, without his help. Sighing again, the young man then nodded.

"Okay.. fine.. I believe you, Aayla. I'll try my best to stay focused... but I'll hold you to that promise: If Ahsoka is in danger sometime in the future.. I will go find her, and you'll come with me..." Anakin said to the twi'lek Jedi Master, who bit her lip, and slowly nodded in understanding.

"I promise, Anakin. But believe me.. everything will turn out right, as long as you trust us, and keep your head cleared. Don't distress yourself over your dreams.. they'll go away. And once the Sith have been defeated.. the Galaxy will be a better place, for all of us." Aayla assured again, her hands still gently touching the human man's cheeks. Anakin let out a quiet exhale, and nodded as well.

"Yeah.." He answered simply, not coming up with anything else to say. A smile then formed on Aayla's face, as she playfully patted Anakin's cheek a few times.

"Good. Run along then... you'll have a few hours to yourself, until the Council gathers for a meeting." The twi'lek female said, as she parted away from her human colleague, and sat back down on the meditation pad. Anakin scratched the back of his head slightly, nodding his head again.

"Right.. I'll be going now. Thanks for the talk, Aayla.." He replied, before quickly turning around, and heading for the room's door. The twi'lek Jedi Master smiled a bit wider, as she sat in a lotus position again, intending to meditate soon.

"Anytime, Anakin." Aayla said, as she closed her eyes with a smile. Anakin then proceeded to open the door, and walk back into his Jedi colleague's private quarters proper. He closed the door behind him, giving the twi'lek some quietness and privacy for her meditation.

In the following moments, Anakin made his way out of Aayla's quarters. He knew that he Jedi Council would gather for a meeting later in the day, and that he needed to attend that meeting. As he was a member of the High Council now, the young man could imagine that his responsibilities would only double in the near future.

Anakin also remembered that the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had asked him to attend a performance at the Galaxies Opera House later in the evening. The human Jedi Master wished that the meeting with the Council would end before his scheduled meeting with the Chancellor, as he was eager to spend some time with his mentor. It would most certainly clear his head a bit, which the young man desperately needed. It was also a plus that he could get away from the Jedi Temple, even if it was for a single evening. He didn't expect the performance to be anything grand, as Anakin hated operas and the like with a passion.

But he figured that Chancellor Palpatine would make the event at least slightly more interesting, as the old and wise human politician knew much about the Galaxy, and Anakin was always eager to hear his thoughts and counsel. However, he knew that he couldn't spend too much time with Palpatine, listening to his advice, as the Jedi had grown more wary of him than before, and that Anakin was needed to report back anything suspicious that he heard or noticed about the Republic's leader.

 **...**

The brightly lit and beautifully decorated meditation chamber of the Hapan Queen Mother, aboard her personal Battle Dragon cruiser Song of War, was otherwise silent, with only the beautiful Queen quietly breathing, as she sat on her ottoman seat, her eyes closed tightly. Ta'a Chume meditated upon many things, pondering on her future, and the future of her people, and the war she was waging against the Republic.

Although at first the Royal Hapan Fleet and their ground forces found tremendous success, catching the Republic off guard, and taking over both Tanaab and Onderon in quick fashion, completely obliterating the defending forces, as the Queen Mother used her expertise in battle meditation to give her soldiers an edge. However, their advantage quickly turned around, as the numerically superior Republic forces managed to retake Tanaab, and force the entirety of the Hapan fleet to converge on Onderon, to fortify the planet. The hapans could now only wait for the main Republic fleet to arrive, and initiate a massive battle over the skies of the planet, in an effort to end the Queen Mother's war with one fell swoop.

Ta'a Chume could now only hope that the Republic would send as many ships as they could, so that her Royal Fleet could destroy them once and for all. To do that, she'd need to be deep in battle meditation for the entirety of the engagement. If she were to falter for even a second, it could be the Hapes Consortium's doom. But whatever would happen, she and all of her subjects knew, that Onderon would be the beginning of the end.

As the hapan woman continued to meditate, the door to her chambers opened. The Queen Mother's eyes opened, and she could notice the ship's commanding officer, Admiral Terlan Je'Kyll approaching her. The hapan man had donned a ceremonial admiral's uniform, likely to prepare for the battle, and possible death, as despite their Queen's special powers, the Hapan forces were vastly outnumbered. Admiral Je'Kyll stood in attention before his queen, bowing to her.

"Revered Queen Mother, our fleet has positioned itself near Onderon's space station. The ships from Tanaab have been repaired and retrofitted.. although there wasn't much that our engineers could do. Nevertheless.. we are ready to fight and repel any Republic onslaught." The hapan man explained, standing straight in attention again, his hands behind his back. Ta'a Chume smiled slightly, sensing how terrified her ship's commander was, despite his valiant efforts to try to hide it. The graceful hapan woman let out a quiet hum, and nodded in understanding.

"Very good, Terlan.. I'm proud of you, and all my children. We will be victorious, or die fighting for our cause. The Republic will always fail.. no matter the outcome of the battle here..." She replied, her voice determined, yet soft and collected.

She knew very well, that the approaching battle could be her last, and for that, she needed to look her best, and be her best, so that future hapans could remember their Queen Mother as a gracious, and brave woman, who would go down in history as one of the greatest leaders of the Consortium.

"With you on our side, we'll teach those Republic dogs some humility, m'lady.." The Admiral stated, quickly bowing to his liege again, which caused the hapan woman chuckle quietly.

"We certainly have given them a bad taste in their mouths so far... let them come; Onderon will be their grave, no matter what happens to us.." Ta'a Chume answered, to which the naval officer smiled, and nodded his head in agreement, bowing slightly to her once again.

Before the two could confer anything more, the doors to the Queen Mother's meditation chamber opened again. A young female ensign entered the room, quickly walking to stand next to the admiral. She saluted Ta'a Chume, breathing slightly heavy, indicating that she had ran all the way from the bridge to her queen's chamber.

"My Queen! We're getting a hail from a Republic ship.." The young ensign announced, which caused both the admiral, and the Queen Mother raise their eyebrows in surprise. Ta'a Chume sat down in a less relaxed position now.

"A Republic ship? Where!? Somewhere in the system?" The Queen Mother asked, squeezing her hands, as her heart began to beat faster. She had not expected the Republic to initiate their attack so soon. The young ensign bit her lip, shaking her head.

"No, my lady... they're hailing us from hyperspace. And to my knowledge.. it's not the Republic fleet that's converging on us.." She explained, to which her liege clenched her teeth together, her heartbeat calming. The hapan woman sighed, and nodded slowly.

"I see. Open transmission with them, and relay it here.." The Queen Mother ordered, to which the young ensign quickly nodded her head, and saluted the hapan leader.

The young woman then quickly ran out of the room, to relay the Queen Mother's orders to the bridge staff. Admiral Je'Kyll stayed behind, positioning himself near the doors, giving space for his liege, as the hologram projector in the room was built in on the floor, near the queen's meditation pad.

After a few short moments, the hologram projector came to life, as a flickering blue hologram began to emit from it. The Queen Mother took a diplomatic, yet staunch position, as she sat on her seat. She could see a human man in body armor appear as a hologram, after a few seconds of flickering and forming up. The hapan woman frowned slightly, inhaling shortly.

"You are speaking to Ta'a Chume; the Queen Mother and rightful ruler of the Hapes Consortium. Say your piece with haste, soldier.." She said in a calm, but strong and demanding voice, putting on a sophisticated accent, that was usually used by politicians on Coruscant. The rather dirty and roughed up soldier simply stared at the Queen Mother, his eyebrow raised.

"Uh.. right. Well, lady 'Queen Mother' thingy.. we have someone who'd like to talk with you.." The human man answered, which made the Queen Mother frown deeper. She felt insulted by the soldier's apparent lack of respect for her, or even the knowledge that she was someone not to be trifled with.

The human man then simply moved aside, leaving the holographic picture. Ta'a Chume rolled her eyes quickly, not expecting this interaction to be nothing more than a waste of time. In the following second, another human man entered the holographic transmission, around as roughed and battle hardened as the soldier before him. The Queen Mother's eyes widened slightly, as she thought that the man looked really familiar to her. He had a light battle armor on, with the symbol of the Jedi Order on it, which indicated that he was a member of the Order. The man looked at her, sighing audibly.

"Kayla.." The Jedi said in a quiet, slightly disheartened voice. The Queen Mother's eyes widened by a large amount, and her heart jumped up to her throat. Her mouth felt dry, as her breathing got heavier. She knew exactly who the man was.

"Master.." The hapan woman replied with a whisper, her voice trembling because of shock, and her eyes as wide as plates.

The Jedi in the hologram was her old master, Rahm Kota, who had taught her as his Padawan nearly a decade ago. She hadn't seen her master after she had left the Jedi Order years ago, and would have never expected to see him now, at such a pivotal moment in her life. Kota folded his arms, sighing again.

"What are you doing, kiddo? You're really going to go through with this..?" The middle aged human man asked, his voice sounding disappointed and saddened. The hapan woman could tell that her old Jedi Master didn't want to see her like this, doing the things she was doing. She tried to regain her composure, her hands shaking slightly. Her master used to call her "kiddo", when she was still his Padawan all those years ago.

"I... I don't know what you mean, Master Kota..." The Queen Mother answered, stuttering as she was unable to regain her focus. The experienced Jedi Master sighed yet again, shaking his head in disappointment, which stung the hapan woman's heart.

"Kayla.. what has become of you? What happened to that sweet and kind girl I trained for five long years? You were one of the brightest and most promising Jedi Knights in our Order... what happened, Kayla?" Kota asked, feeling heartache as well, seeing his former Padawan. Ta'a Chume could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She bit her lip strongly, squeezing her hands.

"I don't use that name anymore... master. I am Ta'a Chume.. the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, and I will be referred to as such. I am no Jedi.. or Kayla Ni'Korish..." The Queen Mother answered, though her voice still trembling. She was so sure that her former master could feel her insecurity, even if he was far away. Their Force Bond was still intact, to some extent.

"Then, Ta'a Chume.. what do you hope to accomplish with this war of yours? Your forces nearly devastated the entire surface of Tanaab, and your onslaught against Onderon caused thousands of needless deaths. You killed the prime minister of Onderon personally, for goodness' sake!" Master Kota answered, raising his voice slightly. The hapan woman clenched her teeth together, as she listened to her former master lecture her.

"I am making a statement against the Republic! The Galaxy needs a big chance, so that the common people will live better lives!" The Queen Mother replied, to which her former Jedi Master sighed again, and shook his head.

"And to do that, you murder your way across the Galaxy, killing those very innocent 'common people'!? Kayla, I implore you.. stop this madness! Enough lives have been lost... end this now, before you cause even more death and destruction.." The human man stated strongly, which made the hapan woman bite her lip again, as she could feel some sweat rolling down her forehead.

"I can't do that! I have come too far to end this now! I will either die here, or destroy the Republic.. and with my battle meditation, I'm willing to bet for the latter.." The Queen Mother replied, although she was sure that her former master could sense her uncertainty. The human Jedi Master sighed, looking at his old Padawan.

"You'll only get you and your people killed, Kayla. You know that if you don't focus for even a second, it could change the balance of the battle immediately against you. And take my word on this.. the fleet the Republic is amassing is larger than Onderon's and Tanaab's defense fleets combined!" Master Kota said louder, trying to convince his former apprentice. Ta'a Chume bit her lip, closing her eyes for a moment. She then took a deep breath, before opening her eyes again.

"Then I'll make sure that I don't lose focus, master.." The hapan woman answered, to which her former master sighed in frustration, shaking his head, as he stroked his bearded chin.

"Kayla, listen to me! This is a battle you won't be able to win. If you'd lay down your arms, and tell your fleet to stand down, the Republic will negotiate a peace treaty. Please.. do this for us, and for everyone that serves under you. Don't send them to their deaths for no reason..." He stated, but the Hapan Queen Mother shook her head in protest, standing firm against her former Jedi Master.

"Oh, but we do have reason, master.. and we won't give in to Republic demands. I'm surprised that you're trying to end this before further violence, Rahm... I know how much you love to fight.." She replied, a frowned expression on her face. Hearing that made the battle hardened human man's eyes widen, before he frowned deeply, and inhaled long through his nostrils.

"You know that's not true, Kayla! I don't love war or fighting.. but that doesn't mean I won't do what is necessary, when in times of conflict.." Master Kota answered, his voice rough and strong. He did not appreciate his former Padawan accusing him of enjoying killing.

The human Jedi Master had been born on a war torn planet, that was in the middle of a bloody civil war by the time of his birth. Throughout his childhood, the young Rahm Kota had to dodge bombs and blaster bolts, while playing in his family house's backyard. At an early age, he was drafted as a child soldier to fight for one side of the conflict. For years, he fought in the war, witnessing many horrors, and hardening as the result.

When he was nearing adulthood, Master Windu arrived to the planet with a detachment of Jedi, in order to end the civil war. During the weeks of trying to mediate a peace treaty, Master Windu had come across Kota, and quickly sensed his Force sensitivity. Because of his age, Kota could not be brought to the Jedi Order for training, as he was too old for Padawan status. Master Windu however saw extreme potential in the battle hardened young man, and managed to convince the Jedi Council to letting Rahm Kota join the Jedi Order. In the following years, Kota was trained in the ways of the Force, and quickly rose to the rank of a Jedi Knight, being naturally talented, and found it easy to learn everything he needed about the Force.

"Even so, I can see that the Jedi are trying to falter me, by getting you to contact me after all these years. Unfortunately for you... it's too late, master." The Queen Mother then said, which made her former master bite his lip, and breathe heavier.

"Kayla, don't do this! We can end this without further bloodshed... just listen to me, kiddo!" Master Kota attempted to persuade her, but Ta'a Chume's mind was already made.

"I'm sorry, Rahm. Goodbye.." The hapan woman answered quietly, before quickly waving her hand slightly. Admiral Je'Kyll noticed it, and nodded his head, contacting the bridge. Master Kota took a step forward, biting his lip again.

"Kayla!" The Jedi Master shouted, before the hologram abruptly disappeared, as the transmission was cut.

As soon as the hologram dissipated, Ta'a Chume exhaled long and deep. She closed her eyes, and slightly fell back on her meditation seat. Her hands were shaking, and her breathing trembling, as the fireworks of emotions ran through her body. Seeing her former master like this had shocked the Queen Mother, and she felt uneasy with herself, shivering slightly. The hapan man near the entrance to the chamber noticed this, and quickly walked up to his liege.

"My Queen? Are you alright-" Admiral Je'Kyll tried to ask, before being suddenly interrupted, as he grasped at his throat, gasping for air. The hapan man then lifted off from the floor slightly, floating in the air, as the Queen Mother reached out with her hand, choking him. The hapan woman opened her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"Dear Terlan... I am not in the mood of talking to anyone right now. So please... get out.." She said quietly, strangling her subordinate through the Force. The Admiral gasped for air, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, as he was being choked.

After a few seconds, Ta'a Chume let him go, the hapan man falling on the floor then. The shocked man coughed violently, gasping loudly for air, as he still held his throat with his hands. Je'Kyll spend a few seconds catching his breath, after which he slowly stood up.

"M-my Queen.." He stuttered, but was met with the Queen Mother lashing out from her seat, grabbing her lightsaber hilt, and activating the weapon. The hapan woman pointed the blade of her weapon at the admiral, enraged.

"GET OUT!" She screamed loudly, tears rolling down her cheeks, making them wet, as she had the blade of her lightsaber near Je'Kyll's neck. The Admiral's eyes were wide as plates, as he swallowed audibly. The man then quickly, without a word, turned around, and ran out of the room, closing the doors behind him.

After driving off the hapan admiral, the Queen Mother took a deep breath, deactivating her lightsaber. After that, she closed her eyes, and turned towards her meditation pad again. Dropping her lightsaber on the floor, the hapan woman fell on her knees, bursting out in tears. She leaned on her seat, burying her face in her arm, as she cried audibly, for the first time in years.

Ta'a Chume felt insecure, scared and anguished. Her former master's words had hit her hard, even if she didn't really show that to him. She feared that the soon to come battle at Onderon would be her last, and that her fleet would be destroyed by the Republic. Even though she was strong in battle meditation, the Queen Mother felt uncertain of her ability to defeat the massive Republic fleet heading for her. But she had gone too far to stop now, there was no redemption for what she had done.

As she continued crying, letting out all her feelings, the Hapan Queen Mother could only hope that the following battle would go her way. Whatever were to happen in the coming days, she knew that she'd face them head on. If she were to die above the skies of Onderon, it would not be a death in vain. Even if her war against the Republic would fail, she'd go down in history as the only Hapan leader, who defied the will of the Republic, and became a real threat to them.

Despite her insecurities and fears, Ta'a Chume knew that she would never give up, and that she'd die long before she'd admit defeat to the Republic. No matter who they'd send to try to stop her, she was determined to fight them, and die taking down as many of them as she could. She was making history, whether it would end up in her favor or not.

 **...**

Dozens of elegantly clothed people stood around in the expensive and glamorous looking halls of the Galaxies Opera House on Coruscant, as the night's performance was currently on a break. Several attendees took this as an opportunity to visit the restrooms, or pay a visit to the building's bar and restaurant facilities, to get some refreshments.

Jogging up the long staircase, leading up to the main opera auditorium, was the newly elected member of the Jedi High Council, Master Anakin Skywalker. The young human man breathed calmly, as jogging didn't tire him much, having done enough running around during the Clone Wars. Anakin was in peak physical shape, as most Jedi were. Using the Force was only one thing, as physical strength was also looked up to, though not as important as the study and understanding of the universe around them.

As he got to the top of the stairwell, Anakin quickly located a door nearby, which he knew would lead to Chancellor Palpatine's private lounge balcony. He felt slightly irritated by the fact that he was late to his meeting with the Supreme Chancellor, as the first Jedi Council meeting he had attended had taken much more time than he had expected.

Entering the private lounge, Anakin passed two of the Chancellor's Red Guard, who didn't seem to stop him, which led him to believe that his meeting with Palpatine was known and expected by more than just the two of them. He walked down a short set of stairs, spotting the Chancellor sitting down on his seat at the center of the nearest row of seating to the balcony's railing. The young man could notice the Chancellor's delegates, such as Mas Amedda, Sly Moore and others being nearby as well. He could see two blue skinned humanoids sitting next to Palpatine, whom he recognized as being chiss. Anakin had heard about the Republic alliance with the Chiss Ascendancy recently, after he had returned to Coruscant.

As the young Jedi Master got to the Chancellor, the elder human man noticed him, and a wide smile immediately formed on his face. Anakin smiled as well, and humbly bowed to the Supreme Chancellor, showing his respect.

"Anakin! How marvelous for you to come here tonight!" Chancellor Palpatine greeted in a cheery voice, which made his compatriots turn their glances towards the human Jedi, who felt a bit awkward.

"I apologize for being late, your Excellency.. the rest of the Council kept me this long." Anakin replied in a humble tone, to which the Supreme Chancellor let out a quiet chuckle.

"Ah, but it is only appropriate, Anakin. With greater power, comes greater responsibility.. as my father used to say." Palpatine stated, leaning back on his seat. As Anakin nodded his head silently, rather sheepishly standing next to the row of seats the Chancellor was sitting on, the Republic leader quickly took note of this.

"Please, sit down!" The Chancellor then offered, though noticed with a quick look around, that there weren't any seats left. The elder human man's expression turned more serious, as he glanced at his delegates.

"Leave us.." He ordered, which made his aides quickly get up from their seats, and leave the lounge. The two chiss, a male and a female, also stood up, and started to head out. As the chiss man got to Anakin, he smirked slightly, and offered his hand for a shake, which made the human man raise his eyebrow.

"What a pleasure it is to meet the famous Anakin Skywalker. Your fame has reached far, even all the way back to Csilla.." The rather intimating chiss stated, as Anakin shook his hand. The human Jedi Master could tell that he was a high ranking military officer.

"Ah, of course! Anakin, meet Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendancy. He and his sister just arrived to celebrate our victory over the Separatists.." Chancellor Palpatine explained, as Anakin and the chiss man shook hands. The blue skinned near-human chuckled slightly, looking straight into Anakin's eyes.

"Please, call me Thrawn. We at the Ascendancy are honored to have aided the Republic defeat the Separatist scourge.." Thrawn said, as he ended his handshake with Anakin, who simply nodded in response, not really knowing what more to say. After that, the female chiss appeared next to Thrawn, holding out her hand as well.

"Truly, it's a pleasure, Master Skywalker. I see that you're as handsome as I've heard.." The chiss woman said, a slight smirk on her face, as she winked her blood red eye at Anakin, who raised his eyebrow again. She was wearing an elegant official looking uniform, same as her brother. Thrawn chuckled, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Veeren, quit teasing the poor boy. We'll be on our way then... enjoy the show, Master Jedi.." The Admiral then said, after which he and his sister walked past Anakin, and left the lounge as well, leaving the Jedi Master and the Supreme Chancellor alone.

After the delegates had left, Anakin stepped over to the seat next to Palpatine's, sitting down. He leaned back, and turned his glance at the large auditorium in front of him, seeing the stage where the performers were preparing for the show to continue, as the break neared its end. After a few seconds of sitting silently, the Supreme Chancellor glanced at the Jedi Master next to him.

"I hope that the duties of a Jedi Master aren't too much of a burden for you, Anakin. You seem a little tired.." Palpatine noticed, to which his Jedi friend bit his lip slightly.

"It's not too much work, Chancellor.. I just haven't slept much recently." He replied quickly, glancing at the stage again. The Supreme Chancellor let out a quiet "ah" sound, as he nodded his head.

"You're restless? Tell me what is happening, son. Are you plagued by dreams again..?" The elder human man asked, which made Anakin raise his eyebrows slightly, as he glanced at the Chancellor.

"Yes... how did you guess?" He asked, to which his mentor let out a quiet hum. Anakin was always surprised how the Chancellor seemed to nearly read his mind sometimes, as if he was a Force user himself.

"I remember how you told me about the dreams you had about your mother years ago. I can see it in your face, that something is really bothering you.. so I can only assume that you're having similar dreams again.." Palpatine answered, his voice calm and almost soothing. Anakin sighed audibly as a response, nodding his head.

"Yes.. I've been seeing dreams like I had about my mother. About someone close to me dying..." The young Jedi Master explained, which caused the older human man next to him hum again.

"I see... is this person very close to you? A lover or something similar perhaps?" The Chancellor then asked, which made Anakin's eyes widen, and his heart skip a beat. He wasn't exactly sure if he should reveal his relationship with Ahsoka to the Supreme Chancellor, as the only people who knew about it currently were his fellow Jedi Quinlan Vos, and Aayla Secura.

"I... y-yes, your Highness..." He replied quietly, deciding to reveal his secret to his mentor, who smiled, and quickly patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Anakin.. I will not tell anyone about it. It is only natural for someone to be in love, in my opinion. One of the downsides of being a Jedi... you forbid natural and beautiful things.." The Chancellor replied calmly, which made Anakin sigh slightly, nodding in agreement.

"The Jedi think that attachment leads to jealousy and obsession, which in turn lead to the Dark Side. I can't stop loving her, though... no matter if I wanted.." He said quietly, knowing that Palpatine didn't likely expect his lover to be his former Padawan, whom the Chancellor himself had nearly declared guilty during her trial nine months ago.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Anakin.. I completely agree with you. Now... about this dream. Did you see her, this woman you love, die..?" Palpatine then asked, to which his young protégé silently nodded in acknowledgment.

"Yes.. I've seen her die in my dreams more than once now. I fear that they're visions of the future.. like what happened with my mother.." Anakin explained, his voice quiet and sorrowful. The Supreme Chancellor glanced at him, silently nodding his head in understatement.

"The fear of losing her, like you lost your mother, is bothering you tremendously, is it not? It must be such a heavy burden, Anakin.. but remember that you have my support, always." The kind and wise Chancellor assured, giving the young Jedi Master's shoulder another pat. A faint smile appeared on Anakin's face, as he appreciated Palpatine's support.

"Thank you, your Excellency.." He replied in a humble voice, showing gratitude to his mentor.

For the next few moments the two of them kept their attention on the stage, as the night's performance continued. The stage actors jumped around, performing their artistic moves, as holographic images and objects floated nearby. Mood music played in the background, with a choir performing a song as well. After a short moment, the Supreme Chancellor took a short breath.

"Have you ever heard the tragic tale of _Darth Plagueis the Wise_?" The elder human man asked, as he turned his attention back to Anakin, who glanced back at him. The young man quickly shook his head, as he had never even heard of a "Darth Plagueis" before.

"It's an old Sith legend, Anakin. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful in the Force, that he could alter _midi-chlorians_ in a way, that could allow him to create life.." Palpatine explained, as he looked into Anakin's eyes, who could feel his heart jump slightly. Creating life out of the Force sounded truly incredible.

Midi-chlorians were microscopic bacterial life forms, that existed within the cells of all living things in the Galaxy. Jedi scientists had long believed that midi-chlorians were the basis for Force sensitivity, as the higher the midi-chlorian count was in a person, the more powerful they usually were in the Force. Anakin was thought to be the most powerful Force user there had ever been, based on the number of midi-chlorians in his body. The late Qui-Gon Jinn had thought that he was conceived by the Force itself, being a pure Force user.

"He could create life..?" Anakin asked curiously, which made the Chancellor quickly nod in acknowledgment.

"Oh yes, in some ways, at the very least. As you know, midi-chlorians affect your cells.. and can modify them. Darth Plagueis found a way to manipulate them in a way, that stopped his loved ones from dying. He cured illnesses, and kept them from dying to old age..." Palpatine explained, to which his young Jedi Master friend could only raise his eyebrows. Anakin could feel his heart beating faster. It was possible to stop death with the use of the Force?

"What happened to him and his knowledge..?" The young man then asked, to which his mentor let out a short chuckle.

"As with many Sith, Plagueis was afraid that his powers would forever be lost, if he were to die unexpectedly. And so, he taught his apprentice everything he knew.. sharing all of his knowledge of the Dark Side with him. This proved a fatal mistake for him, however.." The Supreme Chancellor replied, after which he glanced at Anakin again, who stared at him with curiosity. Palpatine then inhaled quickly, before continuing.

"In his arrogance and contentedness, one of the most powerful Dark Lords of a Sith forgot the only reality of the Sith... that an apprentice will always succeed the master, when they are more powerful. Since his apprentice now knew all of his secrets and powers, Darth Plagueis was living on borrowed time, and it didn't last long.." The Chancellor explained, to which the young Jedi next to him frowned slightly. He could tell where the story was going.

"The apprentice killed him, right?" Anakin asked, knowing all too well how Sith operated. A slight smile appeared on Palpatine's face, as he chuckled, and nodded.

"Exactly, Anakin. Plagueis' apprentice saw his master being weak at that point, and proceeded to murder him in his sleep. Ironic, isn't it? He worked so hard to keep others from dying, he forgot about his own mortality altogether..." The Supreme Chancellor stated, looking towards the stage now, a strange smirk on his face, which made Anakin raise his eyebrows again.

The young Jedi Master leaned back on his seat slightly, biting his lip. He thought deeply about the story the Supreme Chancellor had just told him. If the Sith legend about Darth Plagueis and his powers was true, Anakin could only think about the possibility of learning such powers, and keep his loved ones from dying. He wanted nothing more than to keep Ahsoka alive and safe, so he could live with her for the rest of his life. If there was a chance for him to stop the people he loved from dying, he'd have to take it.

"Is there a way to learn that kind of power..?" The young man asked quietly, looking at his mentor, who slowly turned his attention back at him. The Chancellor stared at Anakin for a moment, a stoic expression on his face.

"Not from a Jedi, Anakin..." He answered in a monotone voice. Anakin bit his lip, and sighed, nodding slowly.

"Yeah... of course.." The young Jedi Master said quietly to himself, having expected to not be lucky with this. The Chancellor stared at him for a few seconds more, before smiling again, and letting out a quiet laugh, as he patted Anakin's leg.

"Ah, but let us not dwell on such things right now, my boy! Let's just sit back, and admire this exquisite piece of art.." Palpatine said in cheery tone, as he turned his attention back to the performance going on at the stage in front of them. Anakin frowned slightly, as he glanced at the performance for a few seconds, before looking down on the floor, and stroking his chin.

He still couldn't get his mind off the power that Darth Plagueis supposedly possessed. He wanted to possess that power as well, so that he could safe Ahsoka, if she were in danger of dying in the future. And seeing how his nightmares of his mother dying came true, the young man was more than worried about his most recent dreams as well. He was so very afraid of losing the one person he loved more than anything, and he was determined to do anything to stop that from happening.

The apparent fact that no Jedi could ever teach him the secrets of Darth Plagueis also bothered him, as it complicated things a lot. Anakin didn't want to play around with Dark Side powers, no matter how much stronger they'd make him. But his fear of losing Ahsoka was making him question his morals, and if he really should stay away from Sith powers altogether, or learn some of them to further keep his loved ones safe from harm. He did not grave for personal power anymore, as he had done years ago. He now only wanted to live a happy life with the person he loved, and to keep her, and everyone else that was dear to him, safe and alive.

Sighing quietly to himself, Anakin continued to ponder on his options, as the performance kept on going, with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine enjoying every moment of it. The young Jedi Master also wondered how his longtime mentor knew about Darth Plagueis' story, though he figured that as wise and informative as Palpatine was, it only made sense for him to know about as taboo things as Sith legends and stories. Anakin still desired to find out more about Plagueis, and how he managed to learn to keep people from dying. He needed that power, in case if Ahsoka would be in danger of dying ever again.

 **...**

The Corellian YT-1300 series light freighter Stellar Envoy flew through the blue tunnel-like dimension of hyperspace, travelling in speeds far higher than the speed of light. The ship was heading towards the togruta homeworld of Shili at full speed, with the journey still taking several hours more.

Inside the light freighter's main hold, Ahsoka Tano and her dathomirian friend Asajj Ventress, sat around on the comfortable, though slightly cramped couch, which was set around a Dejarik game table. The togruta girl's former master's astromech droid R2-D2 stood near her, being turned off currently in order to recharge his batteries. The dathomirian former Separatist assassin shuffled a deck of pazaak cards in her hands.

"Don't push your luck, Ahsoka... I'll beat you this time, I'm telling you.." Ventress said confidently, preparing the cards for another game, which made the young togruta chuckle.

"Considering that you've spent years now travelling around the Galaxy, I'd have expected you to be a better player than this." Ahsoka replied, leaning on the Dejarik table, on which she and her friend had played a few games of pazaak earlier. The two women had fun with each other, which was a definite change to how they interacted with one other just a few years earlier.

"You'd be surprised how little time I actually have had to play pazaak or _sabacc_.. bounty hunting business is time consuming, you know?" The dathomirian stated, placing the cards down, and starting to share them between her and Ahsoka, as the two of them would then build a deck for themselves.

Before the two of them could begin their game, the young Han Solo appeared in the main hold, having walked there from the ship's cockpit. A smile formed on Ahsoka's face, as the cute young boy approached her and Ventress. As he got to the two women, Han began smiling as well.

"Hey there. Dad told me to say that we'll be at Shili in a few hours.." He quickly explained, fiddling with his hands, as he looked at Ahsoka, who smiled warmly.

"Thanks for the info, Han. Would you care to join us? I'm sure Asajj can shuffle a deck of cards for you.." She offered, holding her own deck of cards in her hands. Ventress raised her eyebrow quickly, as she glanced between Ahsoka and Han. She then put an effort to smile slightly, as she had not really interacted with many children before.

"Uuh.. yeah, of course. Do you want join the game, Han?" The dathomirian asked, her voice changing drastically, as she tried her best to sound sweet and soft to the young boy. The last time she had played against Han, the small boy had offered it, and not the other way around. Ahsoka noticed her efforts, and nearly burst out laughing, having to look away to stop that from happening. The young human boy bit his lip, and rubbed his arm slightly in response.

"Oh, well, I need to go back to my dad.. he still needs my help in the cockpit." Han replied, though he seemed to really want to join the two women in their game of pazaak. Ahsoka smiled, and nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, no problem. See you later then, Han!" The togruta girl said in a cheery voice, which really brightened the expression on the young human's face. Han smiled widely, and nodded, before quickly turning around, and making his way back to the Envoy's cockpit, which lied beyond the nearby hallway.

After the young boy had left, Ahsoka and Ventress returned to their game. Before they could begin however, they both could suddenly feel the aura of the Force vibrating nearby. The two women turned their attention to the dinner and seating area to the right of the Dejarik table. They could see the female voss Tana-Rey silently sit on a chair in a lotus position, her eyes closed. Several miscellaneous items floated in the air all around the voss healer, as she was in deep meditation.

Ahsoka appreciated Tana-Rey for coming with them, although she still felt a bit weird, that the voss female had left her home world so effortlessly, not even taking anything with her. She also knew that Ventress and Jonash didn't exactly trust the healer, which was something that Tana-Rey probably could sense as well. Ahsoka hoped that they could all just get along in the end, as they all seemed to be destined to travel the Galaxy together, during these peculiar times.

"You sure we can trust that voss, Ahsoka? I mean, she has been helpful up until now... but I agree with Solo; they're suspicious people, to say the least..." Ventress noted quietly to Ahsoka, making sure that Tana-Rey couldn't hear her. The voss healer probably would not be able to hear her anyway, as she was deeply focused in her meditation.

"I don't think that she's interested in betraying us or something. What would be her motivations? Besides, she saved my life.. I think that makes her trustworthy." The young togruta answered to her friend. She then quickly glanced at Tana-Rey again, before looking back at Ventress, smiling again.

"And I think that her peculiar traits are simply part of her personality. I say that we give her the chance to help out, and allow her to see the Galaxy beyond her homeworld. Wouldn't you agree with that plan?" She asked her dathomirian friend, who bit her lip, and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess. I just hope that this little trip we're taking to Shili won't blow in our faces. I still think that dabbling with dark powers, and listening to ancient Sith aligned ghosts is a bad idea, Ahsoka. Take it from me.. the Dark Side is no joke..." Ventress said, having experienced more than enough of what the Dark Side truly was during her lifetime. Ahsoka sighed quietly, and nodded her head, placing her cards down.

"I know, Asajj... but I still think that this is the path I must take. If these powers are as helpful as Ashara claims.. I think it's worth the risk." She replied, knowing fully that her future was uncertain, and that she was putting all her faith on her ancestor, who died thousands of years ago. Still, the young togruta wanted to believe, that her dead ancestor wouldn't go all this way just to put her life in danger again.

"I only wish that they're not too powerful. You know that there are powers within the Force, that can't be controlled.." Ventress then stated, likely having researched many situations within the history of the Jedi and Sith, where an experimenting Force user had met a gruesome end, trying to bend unknown and unstable Force powers to their will. Ahsoka nodded in agreement, though it did not change her mind.

"Oh, I know that. And believe me, I'm afraid as well... but I'm know better than to let that fear take control of me. I will go to that tomb on Shili, and see where that'll take me. I guess I can just hope that it all goes well.." The young girl replied, to which her dathomirian friend scoffed quietly, as she took a look at her cards.

"Yeah, no kidding. Just remember that I told you so, if this all goes bad.." Ventress answered, before letting out a quiet chuckle. Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, and laughed slightly as well.

"Oh don't worry, I'll remember. Now... let's get this over with.. I don't like seeing you squirm, whenever I humiliate you in this game." She stated with a laugh, picking up her cards again. Ventress laughed a bit louder, being glad that the atmosphere got happier again.

"I thought that the Jedi taught humility and not arrogance, sweetheart." The dathomirian said with a chuckle, to which her togruta friend smirked, and winked her eye at her quickly.

"Good thing I'm not a Jedi then, eh?" Ahsoka remarked with a slight laugh, as she smirked, and placed her first card on the table. Her friend laughed a bit more, as she played her turn next.

As the two friends began their game of pazaak, and Tana-Rey continued her deep meditation, the Stellar Envoy kept on flying through the bright blue tunnels of hyperspace, approaching the togruta homeworld of Shili with each passing second.

It would remain to be seen just what Ahsoka's ancestor Ashara Zavros wanted her to see inside the tomb of her dead husband. According to the thousands of years old togruta spirit, her lover was a powerful Force user, who was strong in both the Dark Side of the Force, as well as the Light. Ahsoka hoped that her long dead ancestor could teach her to follow the path between the two disciplines, and learn the powers that he had himself possessed.

She had no idea what these powers were, but her wish to use them for the greater good, and to make sure that she could share a happy life with Anakin one day, brought the young togruta the necessary willpower to take the risk, and find out what secrets her ancestor's tomb held. With luck, Ahsoka would quickly master her untapped powers, and return to her lover as soon as possible. She knew that her ancestor Ashara believed that something big was coming, something unknown and elusive, and that Ahsoka and her friends, as well as Anakin, would need to be ready for it.

And to that end, travelling to Shili, and meeting the spirit of her other ancestor seemed like a good place to start, at least in the young togruta girl's mind. No matter what lied ahead of her, she'd be ready to face it head on, for better or for worse.

 **...**

Two B1-series battle droids, programmed for engineering duties, worked at an electrical fuse box inside a small hallway in the Providence-class destroyer, the Invisible Hand. B1 battle droids were the standard issue droids used by the now fragmented and dissolved Confederacy of Independent Systems. B1 battle droids sported very basic programming and were built out of cheap materials, which allowed them to be manufactured in the billions, in the time of only a few weeks.

B1 droids lacked as advanced and sophisticated computer brains, as their OOM-series battle droid predecessors did, due to them requiring extra space and power to house independent central droid brains, rather than being controlled with a central computer located onboard a droid control ship, such as the Lucrehulk-class capital ships. OOM-series battle droids were still used in command and security duties, as their more sophisticated programming made them much more effective, than their cheaper B1 successors.

As the two droids opened the panel of the electrical box, and began to work on it, the door at the other end of the small hallway opened. As soon as the door slid open, the sounds of lightsabers crackling against each other filled the hallway. The two droids turned their attention towards the sounds, stopping their work for the moment.

Dark Acolyte Barriss Offee breathed heavily, as she took steps back from her colleague Sora Bulq, who relentlessly struck her with his lightsaber. The young mirialan blocked the older weequay's attacks, though was forced to fall back slowly, as Bulq was more powerful and experienced than her. The wrinkly skinned weequay man grunted in anger, using his knowledge of lightsaber form Vapaad to his advantage, as he pressed on his attack against Barriss.

"You killed my master! You're nothing but a pretender, cheating your way to the top!" Bulq shouted in anger, relentlessly sticking at Barriss, who managed to block his attacks. The mirialan Dark Jedi scoffed, as she panted.

"Guess that makes me a good Sith then, huh?" She sneered at the weequay, only infuriating him further. Bulq growled angrily, and initiated an aggressive blade lock with the mirialan woman, looking straight into her eyes.

"You're a stain on the entire Sith Order, Barriss! You're not even worthy holding that lightsaber in your hands! Darth Sidious will learn that it was a mistake for him to ever consider you to be his next apprentice!" The weequay Dark Acolyte growled, trying his best to push Barriss back. Tears of sweat rolled down the woman's forehead, as she clenched her teeth together.

"If Lord Sidious would ever have considered you to be Dooku's replacement, do you honestly think that he'd put you in a Kaggath with me!? He clearly favors me, and not you, pal!" Barriss shot back, before suddenly powering out of the blade lock, and pushing her opponent back. Despite Darth Sidious' orders for them both to work with each other, the two Dark Acolytes had begun fighting one another several minutes earlier.

As soon as Bulq stepped back, taking a quick breath, Barriss lunged at him. The two B1 battle droids silently looked on, as the two Force users battled each other. The mirialan struck her blade at Bulq, forcing the weequay man lean back slightly, as he blocked the attack with his lightsaber, holding it only in one hand. As Barriss attempted to push Bulq's lightsaber out of his hand, the weequay Dark Acolyte suddenly moved his left hand to his waist, and grabbed his lightsaber shoto. He immediately activated the short lightsaber, and attempted to hit his mirialan opponent, who was forced to jump back to avoid the attack.

Barriss did a few back flips, quickly moving away from Bulq. Both of them took a moment to catch their breaths, with the weequay man quickly straightening up, and swinging his lightsabers around. Barriss clenched her teeth together, and looked around. The two B1 battle droids simply glanced at each other quickly, as they observed the current events unfolding in front of their optical sensors.

The mirialan quickly stared at one of the droids, and reached out with her left hand. Using the Force, Barriss lifted the droid up from the floor, and crushed it in the air with the help of the Force. She then quickly hurled the crumbled pieces of the battle droid at Bulq, who effortlessly cut the pieces away, shielding himself from them. The other droid glanced between the two in slight shock.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice-" The droid uttered, before Barriss suddenly slashed her lightsaber at him, cutting the battle droid's head off his shoulders rather nonchalantly. As the droid fell on the floor, the mirialan woman used to Force to lift it off the ground as well, and hurl the body at Bulq again, who cut it in half, thus shielding himself from harm once more.

After that, the weequay man growled loudly, as he charged at Barriss again, swinging his lightsabers around wildly. Bulq struck at her again, initiating another blade lock, this time managing to push the mirialan further back. After a moment, the two of them parted for a second, before continuing to duel again. Both of the two Acolytes slashed and struck at each other, attempting to find a weakness in one another's defenses. They were determined to kill each other, no matter the orders their Sith master had given them.

Bulq's strong slashing attack at Barriss missed, as she ducked quickly, and tried to riposte afterwards, sticking her blade at the weequay, who managed to use his shoto as a defense. Immediately after that, he again attacked the young mirialan, pushing her down towards the floor, as she had to lean back, Bulq locking his lightsaber blades in with her again.

As the two of them were locked in a struggle of strength and physical power, they could suddenly hear the sound of a holographic emitter activating nearby. Only a few seconds later, a blue holographic figure appeared right next to them, flickering for a few moments. Bulq and Barriss raised their eyebrows, and sheepishly turned their attention to the hologram, still having their lightsabers locked in with one another.

They could see the holographic figure of their Sith Master Darth Sidious, silently staring at them with his arms folded, his dark hood hiding most of his face. Lord Sidious' hologram was emitted via an autonomously moving legged holoprojector, that had made its way to the two Dark Acolytes, after receiving the Dark Lord's request for transmission.

"If you two are quite finished with fooling around, I have use for both of you.." Darth Sidious remarked, clearly annoyed with his Dark Acolytes trying to kill each other, at least before he'd want to see that happen anyway.

Barriss and Bulq quickly glanced at each other, before they both parted from each other, and deactivated their lightsabers. They both then placed their lightsabers back on their belts with haste, as they then turned towards the hologram of the Dark Lord of the Sith, and knelt down in front of him.

"Apologies, my Lord... we are at your service.." Bulq assured, bowing his head, and placing his hand on his chest, honoring the Sith Lord before him. Barriss bit her lip, and bowed her head as well, nodding slightly.

"Now and forever, master." The mirialan added in a humble voice. Their Sith Master chuckled quietly, letting out a quiet sigh.

"Oh, if only you two would let your petty squabbles go for a little while, we could achieve great things together..." Sidious replied in a slightly snarky tone, to which both Barriss and Bulq quickly shook their heads.

"No, no! We are more than ready to work together, if it pleases you, and furthers our aims, Lord Sidious.." The weequay man assured hastily, sweat rolling down his forehead. His mirialan colleague and rival bit her lip harder, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, exactly! We will do your bidding, my Lord." She said, bowing her head again. The human Sith Lord smirked deviously, nodding his head in satisfaction.

"Good, our time has finally come. The plan the Sith have hatched for a thousand years can finally commence.." Sidious replied, pure eagerness apparent in his low and menacing voice. Barriss' and Bulq's eyes widened, as they quickly glanced at each other. The Acolytes then once again turned their attention to their master, bowing.

"We live to serve you, master... tell us how we can help you achieve our goals." The mirialan woman stated, knowingly trying to sound as humble and eager to serve as she could, even though she had started to feel some doubts about all of this. The human Sith Lord grinned, barely able to hold in his excitement. The Sith had waited for this moment for such a long time.

"First, I need you two to return to Coruscant immediately. Take a shuttle from the Invisible Hand's hangar, and come to the Surgical Reconstruction Center... I will be waiting there. Soon the Jedi Order will be exterminated with one fell swoop, and our millennia old vengeance will finally be complete!" Darth Sidious remarked, squeezing his fist, and grinning widely. He had waited for so long to be able to destroy the Jedi, and that moment was at his fingertips.

"Indeed, my Lord. We shall finally have our revenge!" Bulq remarked, nearly bursting out laughing maniacally as well. Barriss simply stayed quiet, and bit her lip.

She had no love left for the Jedi, and desired to see them destroyed, yet she felt less and less eager about it. Right now, she only wanted to stay alive, as she had learned that being a Sith meant that she could be killed at any moment, by enemies, or allies.

"The Jedi will be crushed, and you two can show me just what you are made of. Remember.. this will be the Kaggath you'll compete in. Show me which one of you is the better candidate to being the next Dark Lord of the Sith. Only the strongest can have that honor... and make no mistake; only one of you will survive the Kaggath.." Darth Sidious then noted, which made Barriss' heart skip a beat. She could feel sweat rolling down her forehead again, as she knew that her life was on the line with all of this. The mirialan however humbly bowed to her Sith Master, as did her weequay rival.

"We understand completely, Lord Sidious. I won't fail you..." Bulq assured, his hand on his chest again. Barriss quickly nodded her head, agreeing.

"I won't fail you either.." She said quickly, to which the human Sith Lord hummed quietly.

"We shall see which one of you is worthy. Now.. tell the droids to initiate the ship's self-destruct protocols, and then leave. We have no use for Separatist equipment anymore..." Sidious stated, to which his two apprentices nodded in understating.

"It will be done, my Lord." Bulq replied, after which he bowed his head again for the last time. Sidious smiled, as he then crossed his hands.

"Excellent. I will see you on Coruscant then. Make haste, for our time has come again..." The human Sith remarked, before his hologram then suddenly disappeared. For a few seconds, Barriss and Bulq stayed still, after which they both stood up, and glanced at each other. The weequay man frowned slightly, folding his arms.

"I will go to the bridge and initiate the ship's self-destruct. I'll see you in the hangar... make sure we have a shuttle prepared for takeoff by the time I get there.." Bulq ordered in a strict tone, to which his mirialan colleague frowned deeply, and scoffed.

"Be swift then.. because I won't wait forever. Be a real shame if you'd burn down with this bucket of bolts..." She replied in a snarky way, as she turned her back on the weequay, who frowned deeper, and inhaled through his nostrils, getting angry.

"Just you wait, Barriss... you won't be breathing in a few weeks.." Bulq answered, his hands squeezed into fists. The mirialan woman didn't listen, and simply walked away, waving her hand dismissively, which only angered the weequay man more.

Groaning in frustration, Bulq shook his head, and turned around, walking to the other direction, heading towards the Invisible Hand's command bridge. The weequay Dark Acolyte felt such burning hate towards his colleague, wanting to rip her eyes out, and cut her to small pieces.

He deeply resented the mirialan woman, who had come out of nowhere, and risen up to be his greatest rival. She had killed his Sith Master Darth Tyranus, who had trained him in the ways of the Dark Side long before Barriss ever even considered leaving the Jedi Order. To see her having progresses this far infuriated him, and he desired nothing more than to get the chance to finally kill her off, and become the next Dark Lord of the Sith. Bulq had waited far too long on the sidelines, and he now demanded respect, and true power.

While Bulq walked to the other direction, Barriss made her way towards a hallway, which had several elevators that could take her to lower decks, so that she could make her way to the ship's hangar bay. The young woman sighed quietly to herself, biting her lip afterwards.

Barriss felt exhilarated due to the fact that she was about to see a lot of action. With the Sith finally making their move against the Jedi, she was expecting to face off against many of her former brothers and sisters in combat. She also felt increasing fear about her chances of survival. The young mirialan had seen just how many times her life had been in danger during the last few months, and that made her doubt everything, especially her loyalties to the Sith.

At this point, Barriss didn't feel much loyalty to her Sith Master, but knew that if she were to defy his will, she would only meet a quick end at the hands of her rival Bulq. Her hatred for the weequay man stopped her from considering the option of betraying the Sith, however, as she wanted to see Bulq dead more than anything. She hoped that once she'd be able to kill her rival, and win the Kaggath, Darth Sidious would grant her the title of a Sith Lord, and thus keep her alive, and most importantly, secure her place as the powerful Sith Master's most trusted ally, and apprentice.

Even though she was afraid, Barriss was determined to not let that fear control her. She was determined to use her fear of death to bolster her resolve, and make her even more cunning and deadly, as she prepared for the day when she'd finally strike her rival down, and become more powerful than ever. She also wanted to prepare for the inevitable battles she'd have to wage against the Jedi in the coming weeks, as it was imperative for her to be especially cruel and ruthless, so that she could show her worthiness, and eventually win the Kaggath.

The mirialan woman was not about to let anything stop her from reaching her goals. She would become a Sith Lord, and one day overthrow her sadistic and untrustworthy master, Lord Sidious. Barriss knew that her master would one day try to betray her again, and she wasn't about to let her guard down, and instead trick her Sith Master, and kill him when he was most vulnerable. As ancient Sith ways dictated, the student would once again become the master, by casting out the teacher, and securing their power for themselves. No matter her doubts, that ultimate goal gave Barriss comfort, as she knew that one day she would be on the top, and all her enemies would lie dead under her feet, including her treacherous master...


	17. Chapter 16: Revenge of The Sith

**Chapter 16: Revenge of The Sith**

Noon sunlight shined upon the Venator-class star destroyer Steadfast, as it lied still, docked in one of the cruiser "pens", in the _Cruiser Staging Area_ on Coruscant. The staging area was a massive military installation, spanning several kilometers in diameter, as it served as the Republic's main staging ground for most military operations during the Clone Wars. Hundreds of ships, including Venator, Acclamator, Victory and Imperator-class capital ships could stay docked in the area's dry-docks, and receive repairs and refitting, as well as allow the ships' crews and passengers board their vessels.

The _Republic Military Base_ was located near the staging area, and it acted as the Republic's main base of operations for all their war efforts. Much of the staging area had been built decades before the Clone Wars, as the Republic used it to house the _Judicial_ _Security_ fleets, before the formation of the Grand Army. The military base was built after the start of the war, a large monument and a memorial having been erected in the base's courtyard as well, to commemorate the First Battle of Geonosis, and everyone who lost their lives there. The designations of each clone, and the names of every Jedi who died during the battle, were written down on a large monument in the courtyard.

The sounds of armored boots clanking on the boarding ramp of the Steadfast, as thousands of clone troopers belonging to the 501st Legion disembarked from the ship, marching in tight formation. Several AT-TE walkers stomped down the boarding ramp as well. The 501st had just arrived back to Coruscant from the Outer Rim planet of Taris, where they had battled a droid defense force left by the Separatists, assisting Jedi Master Plo Koon, and his 104th Battalion.

Overlooking the docking bay in which the Steadfast was docked, Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker looked through a large window in an observation room, as he oversaw his clone troopers disembark his flagship. The human man had his arms folded, wearing newly fitted Jedi robes, indicating his higher rank, though looking nearly identical to his old outfit. Anakin had decided to keep the dark brown and black coloration for his robes, preferring darker colors to the more traditional lighter brown outfits, that most of his Jedi colleagues used.

As Anakin kept looking at his subordinate clone troopers walking down the Steadfast's boarding ramp outside, he could suddenly hear the sound of the hologram projector next to him coming online. The young human man raised his eyebrow, and glanced at the hologram emitter, that was placed on the floor next to the windowed wall near him. As the blue hologram flickered, Anakin turned to face it, figuring that someone wanted to contact him.

To his surprise, the hologram of his former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared, as the feed cleared itself. Anakin's eyes widened, and he could feel his heartbeat fasten. He hadn't seen his old master for weeks. A wide smile appeared on Obi-Wan's face, as he stared at his former Padawan.

"You certainly seem surprised to see me, Anakin." The bearded human Jedi Master noted with a laugh, though he was clearly overjoyed to see Anakin safe and sound. His former apprentice bit his lip, smiling as well.

The young man had no idea how Obi-Wan had even known about him being where he was at the moment, though he figured that his old master had tried the Jedi Temple at first, before finding out about his true location.

"I thought that you were still in the middle of kicking the droids off Utapau, and killing General Grievous.." He replied, to which his old master chuckled, and nodded his head.

"Oh, Grievous has been dealt with.. and the last of the droids have now been destroyed. Utapau is ours, Anakin.. and with that, this war is ever so closer to finally ending.." Obi-Wan remarked, relief apparent in his voice. His former Padawan let out a quiet hum, having waited to hear about General Grievous' death for so long.

"At least Grievous is gone, along with the Separatist Council. Chancellor Palpatine is already celebrating our imminent victory. I guess that means that the Republic will switch its attention to the Hutts then.." Anakin replied, to which his old Jedi Master nodded his head, letting out a quiet sigh.

"Indeed, and the Republic won't know peace for another few years.." The near middle aged human man stated, stroking his beard. His former Padawan bit his lip again, folding his arms.

He had heard about the Jedi relinquishing the command of the clone legions in the coming months, as the Republic intended to replace them with proper military officers. The young Jedi Master would have liked to lead his personal clone battalion to more battles, but it seemed that the Jedi were destined to return to their peacekeeping ways, and no longer fight the Republic's battles on the frontlines. After a moment, Obi-Wan smiled again, as he looked at his former apprentice.

"I think congratulations are in order, my old Padawan. Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker... you know I'm proud of you, right?" He asked, smiling at the young man in front of him, who sighed, and nodded.

"Yeah.. of course, master." Anakin answered simply, not knowing what else there was to say. The position of a Jedi Master and a Council member had come to him as a surprise, no matter how long he had dreamed for it to come true.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there at your induction ceremony. Believe me, I would have loved to be there. It's a tremendous honor for a Master to be able to see their student reach such heights.." Obi-Wan explained, to which Anakin quickly nodded his head, knowing that his former master was proud of him, despite all the mistakes he had made, even recently.

"You don't have to apologize, Obi-Wan.. I know you'd have been proud to see me there." He answered, which made the older human man smile wider, and chuckle.

"At least now the two of us can sit down comfortably, while we're meeting with the Council.." The bearded Jedi Master said jokingly, letting out a laugh, which was met with a slight laugh from his former Padawan as well. Anakin couldn't deny that he had missed his old master. After a few seconds, Obi-Wan quickly looked around, his eyes having caught something. He then glanced back at his former apprentice, sighing quietly.

"I need to go, Anakin. You have my congratulations again... you deserve the position on the Council. We'll meet again, as soon as I get back to Coruscant with Master Tiin.." He said quickly, which made Anakin bite his lip again. The young man felt a bit troubled, many thoughts swirling in his head. He sighed, and took a step forward.

"Wait, master! I.. I need to say something..." The young Jedi Master stated, which made his former master raise his eyebrows, and patiently wait for him to continue. Anakin took a deep breath. He considered telling Obi-Wan about Ahsoka, and what had really happened to him. But he then decided that it was not the time for that, at least not yet.

"I... I haven't been a good apprentice to you. I've been reckless, selfish, bold and foolhardy... and I haven't listened to you as much as I should have. I just want you to know, that you are the only reason why I've gotten this far... and for that, I'm eternally grateful, my master.." Anakin stated, his voice quiet and filled with gratitude. He felt like he had never shown his gratitude for Obi-Wan, despite his numerous disagreements with the Jedi ways. He still knew that his former master was the best teacher he could have ever hoped for, and that he was his closest friend, one who was as important as family.

Obi-Wan looked quite surprised for a few moments, before he began smiling warmly again. As Anakin bowed to him in gratitude, his former Jedi Master returned the gesture, his mood clearly having been lifted even more by that.

"Anakin, you are as wise as my old master Qui-Gon Jinn. You're far wiser and stronger than I, and you have every right to be proud of your achievements. I have taught you since you were a small boy, and you've learned everything I have to teach you... and for that, I'm more proud of you than I have ever been before. You've earned this.. all of it." Obi-Wan assured to his old Padawan, who could feel his heart beating faster.

The amount of gratitude he felt for his former master right now was quite overwhelming, making him feel like he was about to tear up. The young man sighed long, bowing to his old friend graciously.

"Thank you, master.. you honor me..." Anakin replied humbly, to which his former master chuckled quietly, lifting his hand up.

"You don't need to thank me, Anakin.. you've reached this far thanks to your own skills. Now, I must return to my duties.. but we will meet again soon." The older man said, looking around again. It seemed like everything hadn't yet settled down on Utapau. Anakin quickly bit his lip, and nodded in understanding.

"Okay, I understand. I'll see you soon then, Obi-Wan. May the Force be with you, master.." He answered, bowing to his former master again. Obi-Wan smiled warmly, and bowed to Anakin as well.

"And you as well, my old friend. I'll speak with you soon.." The wise and kind Jedi Master replied, after which his hologram subsequently dissipated. Anakin was left alone inside the room again, as he stood straighter again. Letting out a quiet sigh, the human man turned his attention to the 501st disembarking the Steadfast, knowing that this would be one of the last times he'd oversee his troops return home.

After a few moments, he could hear the sound of a door sliding open, coming from the other end of the room, to his left. To his pleasant surprise, he could see two armored clone officers from the 501st; the commanding officer CC-1119, nicknamed "Appo", and the former second-in-command to the Jedi Master, CT-7567, better known as "Rex", quickly approached him.

A smile appeared on Anakin's face, as he spotted his old friend, and faithful clone companion. As the two clones got to him, Appo took lead, placing himself slightly in front of Rex, as he saluted the young Jedi Master. Rex followed in his commanding officer's lead, saluting Anakin as well.

"General Skywalker, sir.. the 501st Legion is reporting for duty. It's a pleasure to be placed under your command again, sir." Commander Appo stated, saluting the Jedi Master in front of him, who simply nodded as a response. Anakin valued the clone commander's professionalism, and eagerness to serve, though he could not deny the fact that he still wished that Rex was his direct subordinate.

"At ease, Appo.. and the pleasure is all mine. Fortunately, we have no current orders, so I'm dismissing the 501st for a few days of shore leave. But I'm sure that you and the rest of the legion will be ready for action, as soon as we're needed again?" He asked the clone officer, who stood in attention, and nodded in acknowledgment. That brought a slight smirk on Anakin's face, as he glanced at Rex. He knew that his old clone friend had become more and more informal, as the years had passed.

"Certainly, General Skywalker! The 501st will remain on guard for any further orders." Appo replied quickly, saluting the Jedi High General again. Now that Anakin was a member of the Jedi Council, he was a higher ranked Jedi General.

"Good. That'll be all, Commander.. dismissed!" The human Jedi ordered, to which the two clones stood in attention, and saluted him.

"Yes, sir!" Appo answered, before quickly turning around, and marching away with a strong stance. Rex stayed behind, appearing a little more relaxed, as his commanding clone officer left the room in the following seconds.

After Appo had left, Anakin glanced at Rex, who removed his weathered helmet. The clone captain inhaled deeply, as he could breathe in fresh air again. The human Jedi Master smirked, letting out a quiet chuckle, as his old friend placed his helmet on his side, and looked out of the window.

"I hope that Taris wasn't too boring of a 'vacation spot', Rex ol' boy.." Anakin joked, folding his arms, as Rex then turned to him, scratching his neck.

"The droids definitely made relaxing a bit difficult, General. The decayed cityscape was ugly to look at too.. nothing as grand as Coruscant's skyline, most certainly." The Captain stated, slightly smirking as well, as he glanced at his Jedi commanding officer. Anakin chuckled, and took a step towards Rex, placing his hands on his shoulder.

"It's good to see you again, Rex. Boy have things changed in the past years... not to mention the past few months." He remarked, to which the clone captain nodded in agreement.

"That they have, General. The Republic has come a long way... as have each and every one of us." Rex answered, his voice calm, collected and his tone professional. Although he wasn't an emotionless machine, Rex still usually kept a professional tone about himself, whenever he was in the presence of his Jedi commanders, even when he was around Anakin. After a few seconds, the human Jedi Master sighed deeply.

"Yeah, the Republic has changed a lot. This might the last time I get to boss you around, buddy.." He lamented quietly, knowing that he likely would not get to go into battle with the 501st anymore, as the Republic was replacing Jedi officers with regular military officers. Rex let out a quiet hum, before smirking ever so slightly.

"Well.. whoever might come to command the 501st, you'll always be the man who I'm proud to serve the most. All of the boys in the brigade will remember the battles we've fought alongside you. I most certainly will not forget, that you're the greatest Jedi military leader there is, sir.." The veteran clone assured, which brought a wide smile on Anakin's face, as he patted Rex's armored shoulder.

"Thanks, Rex. And I won't forget all the times that you've saved my hide from trouble.." He replied with a chuckle, which made his clone friend laugh as well.

"You've got a lot to remember then, sir. I can remember at least six different times, when I've had to put my life on the line for you." Rex stated with a laugh, winking his eye at the Jedi, who couldn't help but chuckle again.

"Was it really six times? I don't recall being that incompetent.." Anakin said, knowing that he had been in danger more than once, though thought of himself being better than having to be rescued often. The clone captain shrugged his shoulders, still smiling.

"I don't think it's incompetence, sir... we just get unlucky at times.." Rex replied in a slightly sarcastic tone, which was picked up by Anakin, who rolled his eyes, and chuckled again. He enjoyed his clone subordinates ability to joke around, considering that he was bred for nothing more than warfare, at least in the eyes of the kaminoans.

As the two veterans shared a laugh, in a few moments silence once again fell upon the room. Anakin bit his lip, his mind being filled with thoughts of Ahsoka again. He missed his togruta lover so much, and felt that each day that passed increased the aching he felt in his heart. Glancing at Rex, he sighed deeply.

"You know.. I met Ahsoka during my time on Tatooine, though I'm sure you've heard that I escaped with Master Vos and Secura.." The Jedi Master explained, to which the clone captain raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Commander Tano? What happened, sir..?" Rex asked, likely wanting to hear something about Ahsoka. The two of them had been friends during the Clone Wars, and the Captain more than likely had missed her as well, during the nine months after her departure.

"The truth is that I didn't escape with Master Vos and Secura. Ahsoka and I escaped Tatooine, and proceeded to meet with the Altisian Jedi, before Dooku attacked them. I was separated from her during that fight.. and now I have no idea where she is. All I know is, that she's alive..." Anakin explained, thinking back to the events that had taken place in the past week. It pained his heart to just think about Ahsoka, and the fact that he could not reach her, and make sure that she's safe. Rex listened to his Jedi officer, frowning slightly, as he nodded in understanding.

"Well.. if it's any comfort, sir.. I know that Commander Tano is tougher than she looks. I'm sure that she's fine and safe.." The Captain assured, feeling confident that his old togruta Jedi Commander would be more than capable of looking after herself.

"I know... she was just injured during the fight aboard the Altisian Jedi ship. I just hope that she's recovered, since I know she survived. Things would be easier if I could just see her, and talk with her.." Anakin then stated, sighing again, as he rubbed the back of his head. His clone subordinate bit his lip, staying silent for a few seconds, before seemingly thinking up something.

"I can assure you sir, that if I'll ever come across her during the upcoming campaigns, I'll make sure that you're the first one to know about that." Rex answered with a slight reassuring smile, to which his Jedi friend smiled as well, and let out a short laugh.

"Thanks, Rex.. I know I can always count on you." Anakin said, smiling again as he patted the clone's shoulder. The two war veterans shared a few seconds of smiling, before the Jedi Master looked around quickly again.

"Okay.. I should let you get back to our men. I'll let you and Appo know, if there'll be any change in plans. But otherwise.. just relax for a few days, alright? The 501st has certainly earned some rest..." The young man stated with a short chuckle, to which the clone captain smirked, and quickly saluted him.

"You got it, sir. Until we meet again, General. May the Force be with you.." Rex said, bidding farewell to his commanding officer. Anakin smiled wider, as it was rare for him to hear his clone comrade using the famous Jedi phrase. In fact, it was rare to hear anyone other than Jedi, using that particular phrase. The young Jedi Master slightly bowed to Rex in a friendly manner as a response.

"The Force be with you as well, Rex. Be seeing you..." Anakin replied to the clone, after which Rex smirked, and nodded his head in acknowledgment, before putting on his helmet again, and turning around.

As the clone captain made his way out of the observation room, Anakin returned to look out of the window, and overlook the rest of the 501st Legion disembarking the Steadfast. For the next few moments the young Jedi Master stared silently at the hundreds of clone troopers marching in formation down the Venator-class star destroyer's boarding ramp. While his thoughts were with the clones that had served him loyally for years, and the fact that he wouldn't be able to lead them into battle anymore, his mind was also filled with thoughts about his lover Ahsoka.

Anakin couldn't find peace, as he constantly feared for the young togruta's life. He knew that if she'd have died, or been hurt recently, he'd have felt it through the Force. As he had not felt anything like that, the young man knew that his lover was safe. However, it didn't lessen his worries in the least, and he found himself being in constant fear, worried that Ahsoka would meet the same fate as his mother.

Because of that, Anakin had begun to ponder more and more about the things Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had told him at the opera earlier. The story about the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis mastering the Force in a way, that enabled him to stop his loved ones from dying, intrigued the young human man tremendously. He felt near obsession over wanting to learn the secrets of the Sith, so that he could make sure that Ahsoka, nor any other of his loved ones would die. His love for all of them, especially the woman of his life was so strong, that he was willing to go to any lengths in order to keep them from dying. And to do that, he was determined to find out more about Darth Plagueis, and his unbelievable Force powers.

Sighing quietly, Anakin turned away from the window, and began to make his way out of the observation room as well. He had promised to meet with the Chancellor in the afternoon, as his friend and mentor apparently had something to talk to him about. The Jedi Master figured that Palpatine was looking to talk to him about the Jedi, and how they could strengthen the bond between the Republic and the Order. It was for that reason that Anakin had been chosen to join the Jedi Council, and become a Master, although his fellow Jedi had tasked him to spy on the Chancellor, and report his findings back to them.

He still felt uneasy about lying to his longtime mentor and friend, but he could only tell himself that he was doing it for Ahsoka, and for the possibility of him one day being able to live a happy life with her. He was willing to burn any bridges in order to reunite with the woman he loved more than his own life. Anakin knew that such feelings were self-destructive, but he could not help it. Ahsoka was everything to him, as he had recently realized that he could not bear to live without her. If he lost her, then everything would fall apart in his life. And for that, he was ready to set aside his relationship with Palpatine, and even go against the wishes of the Jedi, as he intended to learn more about Darth Plagueis in the near future.

 **...**

Warm sunlight shined down from the star _Shulaar_ , which meant "the kindled one" in the native language of the togruta species, _togruti_. Light breeze of wind made the sunny day pleasant, as the tall grass in the fields outside of the small city of _Nahee'a_. Flocks of birds flew above the small buildings, that lied near the outskirts of the town.

Shili was a warm, and slightly arid planet, known for its beautiful and massive grassy fields, and picturesque savannahs. Large mountain ranges ran across the planet's northern hemisphere, which had become a popular winter sports vacation stop for Republic citizens. Shili had been part of the Republic for thousands of years. The togruta had always been an integral part of the galactic government, more than one of their species having served as Supreme Chancellor during the course of history. The togruta were also one of the most common non-human species to be encountered as Jedi, due to being part of the Republic and the galactic community for so many millennia.

Walking towards the fields outside of the city of Nahee'a was the young togruta female Ahsoka Tano, her companions Asajj Ventress and the voss healer Tana-Rey following closely behind her. The small astromech droid R2-D2 was accompanying the group as well. They had arrived to Shili less than half an hour earlier, landing in the spaceport of the small city of Nahee'a. Ahsoka felt the Force pulling her towards this region of the planet, urging her to land there, as she figured that it'd be close to the ancient tomb she was supposed to find.

Their companions and pilots of the ship Stellar Envoy, Jonash Solo and his son Han, had proceeded to take a look around the city by themselves, and resupply, while the women made their way out of the town's premises.

Stopping at the town's exit, the young togruta took in a deep breath, being able to breathe in the fresh air of her homeworld. She had not been back to Shili since her departure over seventeen years earlier, when the kel dor Jedi Master Plo Koon had found her, and taken her to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Ahsoka had no idea if her parents were still alive, or if they were still living on the togruta homeworld. Even though she barely remembered anything about her former home, it still felt nostalgic for her to return here after so many years.

As she was taking in the breathtaking view of the vast grassy fields and savannahs before her, the dathomirian former assassin Asajj Ventress walked next to her. Tana-Rey did the same, stopping to stand on the other side next to the togruta.

"Quite a view. Didn't think I'd ever come this planet... I can only assume how weird it feels for you to be back here.." Ventress remarked, looking at the spectacular view of dozens of Shili native wildlife roaming around in the horizon. Ahsoka agreed that her homeworld was beautiful, but other than that, she had no opinion on it.

"I don't feel like I've longed to return here one day... but oddly, I do feel like I've come back to a long lost home. I was born here.. my family and ancestry come from this world... yet I remember none of it.." She answered quietly, a slight feeling of sadness filling her heart. Despite all the good that the Jedi did, it was unfortunate that they were inclined to separate families, by taking their Force-sensitive infants away to be trained as Jedi, and never to return to their homes. Many people resented the Order for that, calling them kidnappers. The dathomirian woman next to Ahsoka let out a quiet hum in response.

"Yeah... I'm with you there. I barely remember anything about my childhood... well.. the good things, I mean.." Ventress explained, biting her lip. Ahsoka glanced at her friend, whose expression turned slightly sorrowful.

The togruta gently touched the dathomirian's shoulder, trying to comfort her and get her to ignore her memories. She knew that Ventress had faced extreme hardships, especially as a young child, before the Jedi took her in for training.

"We've come this far regardless, haven't we? So I guess that it doesn't really matter, eh?" Ahsoka asked, forcing a faint smile on her face to reassure the dathomirian, who glanced at her, and began to smile as well. Ventress let out a quiet chuckle, and rolled her eyes, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's leave the past where it belongs. So.. how do we get to this tomb of your ancestor?" She then asked, folding her arms. Ahsoka raised her eyebrow for a moment, as she glanced back at the vast fields ahead of her. She frankly didn't know where her ancestor's resting place was.

"Uh... honestly.. I don't know. I don't feel the Force pulling me anywhere right now..." The togruta girl replied, being rather surprised that the aura of the Force pulling her to Nahee'a was nearly gone now. Tana-Rey hummed quietly to herself, as she stared at the fields in front of them.

"The Force guided us here.. I'm certain that it will take us to our destination. Have patience, Lady Tano.. there is no rush." The female voss said in a soothing manner, trying to calm the two quite impatient women. Ahsoka bit her lip, knowing that Tana-Rey was right. If there's anything she had learned from her time as Jedi, was that with enough patience, nearly all puzzles and problems were solvable.

The young girl then took a few steps forward, before taking in a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and tried to immerse herself with the Force, and focus. She needed to find out, where exactly her ancestor's tomb was located. A few seconds later, Ahsoka could feel a familiar cold breeze brushing past her, making her shiver slightly. Opening her eyes, she could tell that her ancestor, Ashara Zavros was close by.

As she slowly turned her gaze to her left, she could see the glowing apparition of her togruta ancestor, standing right in front of Tana-Rey. The voss healer didn't seem to be able to notice the Force ghost however. Ashara stared at the fields for a few seconds, before turning her attention to Ahsoka, a smile appearing on her transparent face.

"It feels so good to be back home, after so many years. You might not have lived here long, Ahsoka.. but I returned here with my husband, and we raised our family in these lands." The togruta woman explained, which made her descendant simply gaze at her, not saying anything. Ahsoka figured that it'd be a good idea not to answer Ashara, as her friends would no doubt hear her speak to someone, who they couldn't see.

"I loved it, you know? That simple, normal life, after all the years of warfare and killing. I felt at peace... and after a while, my husband felt peace as well, as he could let go of all his responsibilities and worries.. and just enjoy life as it is, with me and our children. I can tell that you want to do the same.." The spirit then said, to which Ahsoka's eyes widened, as she could feel her heart skipping a beat. Ashara was right, she desired normal life, a family life with Anakin, more than she could even realize.

Sighing quietly, the young girl looked down, after which her ancestor smiled warmly, before looking towards the grassy field again. As Ahsoka turned her attention to Ashara again, the togruta ghost pointed towards the horizon.

"There is a small village named _Kallig's Rest_ around twenty _klicks_ to the northeast. My family's homestead was located there, though I imagine it to be only ruins now. My husband's tomb is near the village... you just need to walk a few dozen meters to the west from it." Ashara explained, turning her gaze back at Ahsoka, who silently nodded in understanding. The young girl was however surprised that such a name was given to a village on Shili, as all the other towns and cities were named in the togruti language.

Ahsoka then glanced back at the fields ahead of her, to the direction of the supposed village. She could then feel the cold air around her dissipate, which made her quickly turn her attention back to where Ashara's ghost was. As the girl had suspected, her ancestor's spirit had disappeared again, as fast as she had appeared in the first place. Ahsoka then turned around, seeing her two companions awaiting patiently for her input.

"I know where to go. There's a village nearby, that is located right next to the tomb.." She explained to Ventress and Tana-Rey, who both glanced at each other quickly. The dathomirian had her eyebrows raised, as she folded her arms again.

"Your ghost buddy told that to you just now? You're still confident that she's not trying to trick you, Ahsoka?" Ventress inquired, still wary of her friend's ancestor, and her motives. Ahsoka bit her lip, knowing full well that she could be heading to her doom. But she really doubted that her own ancestor would go to such lengths, just to betray her descendant, her flesh and blood.

"I'm sure. I've come too far to give up now, Asajj. Let's just get to the tomb, and find my other ancestor.." The togruta girl replied, wanting to move on as quickly as she could. Ventress inhaled deeply, before sighing, nodding her head.

"Alright then. Let's go rent a speeder.. I'm sure that there's a store selling them somewhere nearby. Let's also find Solo.. he'll pay for that speeder." The dathomirian said nonchalantly, as she turned around, and began to head back into the town of Nahee'a. As Ahsoka and Tana-Rey followed her, R2 sticking to them closely, the young togruta could only chuckle quietly.

"You just love teasing him, don't you?" She asked with a laugh, shaking her head. The dathomirian woman simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

"He just makes it too easy.." Ventress replied, continuing to walk towards the centre of the town, as Ahsoka and Tana-Rey followed her, the voss female almost letting out the faintest of laughs.

In the following moments, the three women and the astromech droid made their way to the city's speeder vendor, from where they'd requisition a vehicle, so that they could travel to the village of Kallig's Rest. Ahsoka felt like she was about to go through something, that would leave her life forever changed. She was both excited about tapping into her undiscovered powers, as well as extremely terrified. The possibility of her achieving great things with her powers enticed her, as she wanted to use them to better the state of the Galaxy, even if she desired to just live happily with Anakin most of all.

However, she was afraid of the fact that dark powers had the danger of pulling her towards the Dark Side. If there was one thing she wanted to avoid more than anything, was falling to the Dark Side of the Force, and becoming the very thing she had spent years fighting against as a Jedi. Though she didn't belong to the Order anymore, Ahsoka knew that she'd always hold many of their beliefs and principles important in her life.

Whatever her said powers were, she wouldn't know anything for sure, until she'd meet her ancestor. Ahsoka felt wariness due to the likelihood of her ancestor, the husband of Ashara Zavros being a Sith Lord. She felt like it was more than likely, that the father of her ancestor's children was once a Dark Lord of the Sith, as he apparently was a servant of the ancient Sith Empire of Darth Vitiate. Ahsoka hoped that her ancestor eventually left the Sith, as she'd feel more than uncomfortable learning from a Sith Lord.

Hearing Ashara's story about her living with her family on Shili brought her some comfort, though the young girl guessed that she couldn't be sure about anything, until she'd come face to face with her ancestor. For better or for worse, she'd soon know a lot more about her family history, as well as find out just what kind of powers she possessed.

 **...**

The doors to Chancellor Palpatine's private chambers inside his office slid open, revealing the Supreme Chancellor and his young Jedi Master friend Anakin Skywalker, walking out of the chambers, and entering the short hallway, that led back into the office proper. The two longtime friends had met a short while earlier, as the Chancellor had asked the Jedi Master to meet him in order to discuss some things with him. As the two of them slowly walked along the hallway, the elder human man smiled, and placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder.

"I hope that the Jedi Council will know that the Senate corruption has been dealt with, and that I will relinquish my powers as Supreme Chancellor, once the Hutts have been dealt with.." Chancellor Palpatine said assuredly, which made his young Jedi Master friend raise his eyebrows. Anakin was surprised at hearing his mentor suddenly change the subject to such things, since they had not talked about anything like it beforehand.

"I... I'm sure that the Council will understand. Though, may I ask.. what brought this up, Chancellor?" He asked, wanting to know just what made Palpatine come up with it. The elderly human man smiled warmly, as he stopped. Anakin glanced at him, as the Chancellor smiled back at him.

"Oh, don't look so surprised, son. I'm fairly aware of the fact that they set you up to spy on me and the Senate, Anakin.." The man explained, letting out a quiet chuckle. Anakin's eyes widened, as he felt embarrassed and quite terrified, that his mentor and friend had figured out his intentions.

"I'm.. I'm sorry? How did you know...?" The young Jedi Master asked, feeling how his heart was pounding. He had no idea whether the Chancellor would throw him in jail for capital treason, or if he'd just brush it off. As Palpatine responded with a quiet laugh, Anakin figured that it was the latter.

"I would never have made it this far in galactic politics, if I wasn't able to see clues and hidden things around me. It's quite clear that the Jedi don't trust me, Anakin... they never have. Despite all my efforts to bring us together, your Order seems to distance itself from the government.." The Chancellor said, his voice returning to a more serious tone. It sounded like he felt regret and sadness, that the Jedi Order distrusted him. Anakin bit his lip, knowing how he himself felt about the situation.

"I can assure you, that no matter what my fellow Jedi think, I am, and always have been loyal to you. You have guided me throughout the years, and given me your support, Chancellor... even more so than the Jedi at times.." He responded, being honest with his longtime mentor, despite knowing that his fellow Jedi would disown him for it. The two of them stopped at the entrance to the Chancellor's office, as the elder man smiled at his young friend again, and squeezed his shoulder.

"I know, Anakin. You have always been the most trustworthy and honest Jedi in the entire Order. And I could tell the moment I saw you the first time, that you'd move on to become the most powerful Jedi in history.. if not even the most powerful Force user of all time..." Chancellor Palpatine said with a warm smile, bringing confidence to the young man, who smiled as well.

"Thank you, your Highness.. it's because of you that I've come this far." Anakin replied in a humble manner, bowing his head slightly to the Supreme Chancellor, who smiled wider in response.

After a few moments, Chancellor Palpatine looked around, seemingly thinking something to himself. A few seconds later, the wise and revered man took a deep breath, turning to Anakin once again. He still had a smile on his face.

"You have been thinking about the story I told you recently, haven't you? The one about Darth Plagueis and his powers." He asked in a calm voice, which made his friend bite his lip, and nod slowly. Anakin had thought about the story a lot, as he wanted to learn Darth Plagueis' secrets.

"Yes.. I have. How did you know..?" The young man asked, as he stared at his elder friend. Palpatine's smile faded, as he looked back at him.

"Your thoughts are constantly with your lover, Ahsoka Tano. You're so very afraid of losing her, and want to learn everything that Darth Plagueis knew. I applaud you, Anakin... not many Jedi would be willing to go so far to save someone so dear to them.." The Chancellor explained, his expression more serious now, though still calm and benevolent. Anakin could feel his heart skip a beat, as his eyes widened. He then frowned, and took a step closer to his mentor.

"How.. how do you know about Ahsoka..?" The young Jedi Master asked, breathing heavier. He had no idea how the Supreme Chancellor could know all of these things. It was as if he was reading Anakin's mind.

"Your thoughts and feelings are very visible through the Force. Your anxiousness makes it only easier for people to read your mind. I'm surprised that the Jedi haven't found out about your secret yet... though I suppose that their powers have greatly diminished.." Palpatine answered snidely, which caused Anakin to raise his eyebrows. The young man couldn't believe his ears: was his mentor and longtime friend really saying what he thought he was?

"You.. know the ways of the Force, Chancellor..?" He asked carefully, not sure what to think. How could the Supreme Chancellor be Force-sensitive, and not be detected by the Jedi? The elder human man was silent for a moment, before inhaling long.

"Yes, Anakin. My mentor taught me everything there is to know about the Force several decades ago. Even the secrets of the Dark Side..." The Chancellor explained in calm manner, his gaze turning to Anakin again, who frowned deeply.

As the young man stayed silent for a few moments, thinking about the shocking revelation his old friend had just made. As he stared at the Chancellor, Anakin suddenly came to a startling realization. He knew just who Palpatine really was. Without a second thought, the Jedi Master grabbed his lightsaber hilt from his belt, and pointed the weapon at his mentor, brandishing the blue blade. He stared at the Supreme Chancellor in anger, breathing heavier through his nostrils.

" _You_ are the Sith Lord we've been looking for.. you're Darth Sidious!" Anakin stated angrily, holding his lightsaber blade near the Chancellor's neck. He felt betrayed; his friend and mentor had lied to him for years about his true indentify and intentions. Palpatine calmly looked back at him, sighing quietly.

"Anakin, I am not your enemy. I only wish to help you, as I know the Jedi will not..." The Chancellor replied calmly, not even flinching at Anakin pointing his lightsaber at him. The young Jedi Master bit his lip, shaking his head.

"Help me!? You've lied to me for so many years! You are the person behind the entire war against the Separatist, and who knows how many other things! How could you possibly help me!?" Anakin asked demandingly, his hands starting to shake slightly. The Chancellor, revealed to be a Sith Lord, simply glanced back at him, his expression not changing.

"Anakin... I know how much you love her. I can see how your nightmares are bothering you.. and how much you fear of losing Ahsoka. I know the secrets of Darth Plagueis.. the secrets you so desperately want to learn. With my help, you can save your lover..." Palpatine answered, trying to persuade his friend about his desire to help him. Anakin stared at the elder man, his hand shaking more. He breathed heavily, not knowing what to do.

"You're still a Sith Lord.. the one that we've been looking to find and capture. You don't want to help me.. you only want to manipulate me for your own purposes!" He argued back, trying to hold in his anger. Anakin wanted to strike the Sith Lord down here and now, but he also felt fear, which stayed his hand.

"I have never wanted to use you for my own ends, Anakin.. you must trust me on that. I have always only wanted to help you reach your true potential! The Jedi are holding you back, when you could be so much more powerful!" Chancellor Palpatine replied, his voice sounding sincere, as he implored the young Jedi Master, who bit his lip again, still holding his lightsaber blade up to the man's throat.

"I don't want power! I only want to be with Ahsoka..." He answered, his voice trembling slightly now. Palpatine smiled in response, though his expression seemed more menacing than well-meaning.

"I know, and wouldn't you want to do whatever is necessary in order to be with her? Without the powers of my former master, you'll never be able to save her, if she were to die..." The Chancellor explained, a slight smirk forming on his face. Anakin squeezed the lightsaber hilt in his hand, clenching his teeth together.

He felt powerless, completely unable to decide what to do. On one hand, he simply wanted to kill the Sith menace, that had been tormenting the Galaxy for years now. But on the other hand, his desire of saving Ahsoka, and being with her was clearly stronger, which stopped the young man from simply cutting his old friend down. As Anakin silently kept his lightsaber at Palpatine's neck, the elder human man calmly turned around, and took a step away from him.

"Are you going to kill me?" The Sith Lord, disguised as a politician for so many years, asked in a calm voice, simply looking at the decorations on the wall of the hallway. His young Jedi Master protégé's hand shook more, as he breathed heavily.

"I'd most certainly want to.." Anakin answered, his voice seething with anger, as he could feel tears of sweat roll down his forehead. The man in front of him took a deep breath, before exhaling long.

"Yes... I can feel your anger. It feeds your strength, Anakin.. let it flow through you..." Palpatine replied, his voice low and menacing, as if he was finding satisfaction from feeling Anakin's hatred and anger. After that, the elder human man turned around, looking intensely into the Jedi Master's eyes.

"Join me Anakin... become my apprentice, and you will become strong enough to learn the secrets of Darth Plagueis. It's the only way you'll be able to prevent the death of those you love..." He said determinately, a faint grin on his face. Anakin could feel his heart pounding, as he bit his lip.

He wanted to save Ahsoka, and be with her more than anything, but he wasn't ready to abandon all of his principles in order to do that. At least, he didn't think he was. After a few seconds of staring at his mentor, Anakin sighed long, and deactivated his lightsaber, which made the Sith Lord smile wider. The young Jedi Master however frowned, as he put his weapon back on his belt.

"I will expose you to the Jedi Council. I'll never join the Sith..." He stated quietly, letting out another sigh, as the Chancellor looked at him, and slowly nodded his head.

"You will do as you deem best, Anakin. However... remember that only through me can you become powerful enough to save your friends.. and your lover. You will never learn those powers from the Jedi.." Palpatine said, as the Jedi Master turned around, and walked away.

Anakin squeezed his hands into fists, and closed his eyes, shaking his head. He then began to jog, as he quickly made his way out of the Chancellor's office. As the young human man left, his mentor simply looked after his departure, a devilish grin forming on his face.

In the following moments, Anakin made his way back down to the hangar areas of the Republic Executive Building. He felt anxiety, fear and uncertainty, as his feelings were conflicted with each other. He wanted nothing to do with the Sith, but he couldn't deny the fact that he needed to learn the powers of Darth Plagueis, if he ever wanted to prevent the death of his loved ones.

Thinking that the Jedi Council would be able to help him, the young man was determined to make his way back to the Jedi Temple, and inform them of the Chancellor's true identity. Anakin hoped that the Jedi would arrest his former mentor, which would allow him to interrogate him for the knowledge about Darth Plagueis. However, whatever were to happen, Anakin was determined to bring the Sith Lord to justice. Too much death and suffering were on his hands, and such a crime could not go unpunished.

But despite that, he would also do anything to learn the secrets of Palpatine's Sith Master, no matter what his fellow Jedi would think. He loved Ahsoka too much to let anything happen to her, and was thus ready to do everything in his power to prevent her death.

 **...**

Dozens of officers and ensigns kept busy on the command bridge of the Hapan Royal Navy's Battle Dragon, the Song of War, which was the personal flagship of the Queen Mother Ta'a Chume. Overlooking the rest of the bridge was a small throne meant for the leader of the Hapes Consortium. The beautiful hapan woman Ta'a Chume was sitting down on the throne, silently staring out of the large windows of the command bridge, looking at the vast emptiness of space in front of her.

Several other Battle Dragons, as well as Nova-class cruisers were positioned in front of the Song of War, protecting the flagship. The entirety of the surviving Hapan Royal Navy had gathered around the orbit of Onderon, where the forces of the Hapes Consortium were prepared to make their final stand against a massive Republic onslaught. Despite their initial success against the Republic, and major victories over them, the Hapan fleet had quickly ran into problems, as their Queen Mother could not participate in every battle, and use her battle meditation power to give them an advantage.

As the Queen Mother leaned back on her throne, she sighed quietly. She was still worried about the upcoming battle, uncertain of her ability to maintain her fleet's morale, and strengthening their resolve enough, for them to be able to destroy the incoming Republic fleets. Still, she was determined not to fall back, and instead face her enemies head on, whether it would end with her death or not.

The hapan admiral, as well as the commanding officer of the ship, Terlan Je'Kyll observed some readings on a dashboard near the Queen Mother's throne. After a moment, the man turned towards his liege, standing straight in attention.

"My Queen, the fleet is in position. Our fighters have been refueled and rearmed, and the pilots are ready to board their vessels at your behest.." The professional Admiral explained, placing his hands behind his back. Ta'a Chume simply nodded in understatement, looking distracted.

Admiral Je'Kyll bit his lip quickly, before turning back around, knowing not to push his liege any more than necessary. Not many seconds could pass by, as one of the ensigns suddenly jumped up from his seat, catching the Queen Mother's attention.

"Queen Mother! Several ships are jumping out of hyperspace!" The young hapan man exclaimed, which made the Queen Mother's heart skip a beat. She then looked out of the windows again, as did the entire bridge crew.

In the following seconds, over a dozen large Republic warships exited hyperspace, jumping into the space around Onderon's orbit. Ta'a Chume could immediately recognize several Venator-class star destroyers, as well as many more ships, all of which immediately began to approach the Hapan fleet. The Queen Mother took a deep breath, and looked at her bridge crew.

"Talk to me, children. What are we looking at?" She asked, leaning slightly forward, as she looked at the inbound Republic fleet. One of the officers worked on a computer console, checking the ship's sensors.

"Sensors are showing ten Venator-class star destroyers, five Acclamator-class assault ships, three Victory-class star cruisers... and.. the command ship... my lady.. I've never seen such a ship before in my life..." The officer said, his voice starting to tremble slightly in fear.

That made the Queen Mother raise her eyebrows, after which she quickly stood up from her seat, and walked closer to the bridge's windows. As she looked out of the windows, the hapan woman could see an intimidating ship in the middle of the Republic fleet. It was larger than a Venator-class star destroyer, shaped like a near perfect wedge. The Queen Mother was sure that such a ship could do massive damage to her fleet, even by itself.

"That must be one of the new Imperator-class star destroyers... the Republic is bringing everything they can muster to destroy us.." Admiral Je'Kyll remarked, leaning on one of the computer consoles, as the bridge crew sprung to action. The Queen Mother stared at the approaching Republic fleet for a few moments, before scoffing quietly.

"They can try.. but we won't go down without taking them with us..." She uttered confidently, as she turned around. The Republic fleet was formidable, but much smaller than Ta'a Chume had expected, which brought her more confidence.

"Scramble all of our fighters and bombers.. I want everyone participating in this battle! I will retire to my meditation chamber, and provide support." The Queen Mother ordered, to which the bridge crew responded with various acknowledging sounds or words.

As she got to her throne, she quickly turned towards the crew, who all saw her do that, and turned all of their attention to her. The beautiful and strong hapan woman took a deep breath, laying possibly her final glance at the men and women who so loyally served her.

"This is it, my children. Today we either vanquish the Republic menace, or die as martyrs! We will go down in history as the scourge that forced the Republic on its knees, at least for a while! Fear not death, my children.. for our names will forever be remembered for this! So keep your heads high, and go down in a glorious blaze of fire! We have already won this war, because we never gave in to them!" Ta'a Chume shouted loudly, raising her fist in the air, trying to encourage her people. Many of the officers responded with cheers, and confident roars, while others seemed fearful, and uncertain. The Queen Mother understood their fears, but she knew that they would do their best despite of that.

"We have come this far, m'lady. Let's make this a glorious end, or the beginning of our renewed onslaught against those Republic dogs! Whatever will happen.. know that we are all honored to serve you, my Queen.." Admiral Je'Kyll stated, bowing his head graciously at the leader of the Hapes Consortium, who smiled warmly in response.

"You all make me so proud. Now.. make me even prouder, and send that Republic fleet back to the Hell they came from! May the Force serve us well.." Ta'a Chume then declared, as a final message to her followers, before turning around, and starting to head out of the command bridge.

As the Queen Mother headed towards her meditation chamber, two of her Royal Guardsmen took positions behind her, and followed her out of the ship's bride. In the meanwhile, the bridge crew took battle stations, and prepared for the upcoming spectacle of a battle. The Royal Hapan Fleet would be ready to repel the incoming Republic attacks in a few minutes, as all of the ships around the orbit of Onderon prepared to fight.

Ta'a Chume hoped that her battle meditation would give her forces the necessary edge they needed in order to be victorious here today, although she was prepared to face her doom, if the battle would not end up in their favor. She had no regrets, other than sentencing so many of her loyally serving people to their untimely deaths.

Still, the Queen Mother was determined to see this war of hers through, no matter how it was going to end. As she had intended from the very beginning, her campaign against the Republic was a statement above all else. She wanted to show the Galaxy that the Republic could be resisted by an outside force, and not some separatist rebels, who would have only created another corrupted republic, had they won their war.

And even if she, and all of her forces would be wiped out in the battle of Onderon, they'd be remembered as the first independent power in several millennia, that successfully fought and won battles against the Republic. And that was enough for the Queen Mother, as she would then have been successful at creating a lasting legacy to herself, and her fierce and determined people. The Hapes Consortium would be remembered, for eons to come.

 **...**

The elevator doors to the Jedi High Council Chamber opened, the young Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker quickly entering the room. The panting human man stopped, looking around the room, and seeing several of his Jedi Master colleagues turning their attention to him. He could see his fellow Council members Mace Windu, Kit Fisto and Coleman Kcaj were sitting down on their seats, while he could notice Master Quinlan Vos and Eeth Koth standing in the middle of the room. The group of Jedi Masters were likely in the middle of a meeting currently.

As Anakin bowed to the Masters quickly, still panting slightly from running through the Jedi Temple, all of his colleagues stared at him. Master Vos and Koth quickly glanced at each other, before the kiffar man looked at the young human near him.

"Anakin? Is something wrong?" Quinlan asked, folding his arms. The kiffar man had recovered from his injuries completely recently, though his skin and body still held some traces from the burns and bruises he suffered on Tatooine. The young human man calmed down slightly, having exhausted himself running across the massive Jedi Temple.

"Masters.. I.. I've just learned something truly disturbing. We have all been tricked.." Anakin replied, still panting slightly. His fellow Jedi Master's either frowned or raised their eyebrows, as they glanced at each other.

"Take a seat, Master Skywalker, and calm yourself... you'll have an easier time explaining your findings.." Master Eeth Koth stated, as he stepped aside, and motioned Anakin to take his Council seat. Master Windu nodded in agreement, as he looked at the young human man.

"Master Koth has a point. Sit down and take a deep breath, Anakin.." He said, slightly pointing towards Anakin's seat. The young Jedi Master took a deep breath, and nodded, quickly stepping over to his seat, and sitting down, calming his breathing. After a moment, Master Windu leaned forward slightly.

"Now... tell us what is bothering you." The dark skinned human Jedi Master remarked. Anakin took a few more deep breaths, regaining his composure. He then sighed, biting his lip.

"Master... Chancellor Palpatine, he... he's a Sith Lord.." He explained quietly, though knowing that the others could hear him. All of his fellow Jedi glanced at him, the expressions on their faces turning to sheer shock. Master Windu's eyes widened, as he leaned forward again.

"A Sith Lord!?" The Jedi Master asked in shock, not believing the young man's words. Anakin wished it wasn't true, but it was, which made him nod his head in response.

"Yes.. he told me so himself; he knows the ways of the Dark Side. He even tried to convince me to join him.." He replied, leaning back on his seat, and sighing deeply. The other Jedi Masters in the room all glanced at each other, all having different kinds of shocked expressions on their faces.

"Palpatine is a Sith? How could we not have seen it? He was right there in front of our faces!" Quinlan stated in slight outrage, frowning deeply as he was angry at the fact that the Jedi couldn't see through Palpatine's lies. The zabrak Jedi Master next to him nodded in agreement.

"The Chancellor played us like a fiddle... who knows how deep his corruption runs within the Senate. This whole war must have been his plan all along.." Master Koth added, rubbing his forehead, while sighing in frustration. Master Windu sighed as well, squeezing his hands. Anakin could understand the shock and frustration of his fellow Jedi; Palpatine had lied right in their faces for so many years.

"We must move quickly, and arrest the Chancellor before he goes underground.." Master Fisto noted, glancing at his fellow Masters, who all nodded in agreement.

"Agreed.. we have to take him down now, before he can do anything further. I suggest that we all confront him, and bring him before the Senate for judgment.." Master Windu suggested, to which his colleagues nodded their heads in agreement again. Anakin bit his lip; he knew that Palpatine wouldn't go down without a fight, if he truly was a powerful Sith Lord.

"We need to move now then. Let's take that bastard down once and for all.." Quinlan then said, slamming his fists together quickly, seemingly ready for a fight. Master Windu nodded, agreeing, and proceeded to stand up

Master Kcaj and Fisto stood up as well, and the Jedi Masters begun to make their way out of the Council Chambers. Anakin stood up also, wanting to come along. Although he still felt uncertain, because it was his longtime friend, he however was determined to rid the Galaxy off the Sith menace. As he approached his Jedi colleagues, Master Windu lifted his hand up, stopping him.

"You'll need to stay here, Anakin.." The korun human Jedi Master said in a calm, yet strict voice. Anakin frowned, shaking his head.

"Master, allow me to help you! The Chancellor will know you're coming for him.. you'll need my help to defeat him!" He argued, not wanting to be left behind. The Jedi Master in front of him shook his head, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"We can deal with a Sith Lord.. don't you worry about that. Palpatine has influence over you, whether you realize it or not, Anakin. He might try to distract you, or hinder your resolve, and that in turn could ruin our chances at catching him.." Master Windu explained, to which the young man clenched his teeth together.

Anakin knew that the Jedi Master's words had some truth in them, that his old mentor could try to manipulate him during the heat of battle. But he still was confident that he could help.

"Master, let me help... I can't sit by and let a Sith Lord control the Republic.." He pleaded, but the older and wiser Jedi Master didn't budge, shaking his head again.

"It'll be best for you to stay here, and wait for our return, Anakin. I promise, if you're right about this, then you'll have gained my trust. But for now.. stay here. We'll return as soon as Chancellor Palpatine is in custody.." Windu stated, gently patting the young man's shoulder, before turning around, and walking past his Jedi Master colleagues.

Anakin sighed deeply, and stood still, as his fellow Masters left the Chambers. Master Quinlan Vos stayed behind for a moment, glancing back at the young Jedi Master. The kiffar man got Anakin's attention, striking a slight smile at him, and winking his eye.

"Don't worry, Anakin.. we'll show that lying Sith filth what happens when you mess with Jedi.." Quinlan assured with a smirk, after which he turned around as well, and exited the Council Chambers, entering the elevator with the four other Jedi Masters.

After the turbolift's doors closed, and he was left alone in the small room, Anakin sighed deeply again, and slowly made his way back to his seat. He sat down, and immediately hunched forward, burying his face with his hands. The young man felt powerless, as he wanted to help his Jedi brethren fight their ancient enemy. But he knew that Master Windu had a point, as much as he hated to admit it. Palpatine had been his mentor and friend for so many years, it was obvious that he had great influence over him.

The young man then leaned back, taking a deep breath, as he wanted to relax, at least a bit. Anakin felt so conflicted, fearful and uncertain about his future. He knew that if Chancellor Palpatine would be killed by the Jedi, he'd lose his biggest chance of learning the secrets of Darth Plagueis, and keeping his love Ahsoka alive. Even though he was sure that he could find information about the Sith Lord and his powers elsewhere, Palpatine was still his best chance. But he wasn't ready to betray his Jedi brothers and sisters, just to have a better chance at learning the power to stop death. At least, he didn't think he was.

Sighing again, Anakin then turned his head to look out of the Council Chamber's windows. Sun was starting to set on the horizon, hundreds upon hundreds of skyscrapers turning on their lights, making the skyline beautiful. The young human man looked at the horizon, his beautiful togruta lover on his mind constantly. He missed Ahsoka so much, and wished that he could be with her at this moment. He loved her more than anything, and would always be ready to give his life, if it meant that she'd be safe. That reason alone made him so frustrated, that his fellow Jedi didn't let him take part in their risky apprehension of Chancellor Palpatine. Anakin knew that they'd need his help, if the sinister Sith Lord shrouded in mystery was as powerful as they had been told.

 **...**

Light breeze made the tall grass dance in the ground, as the sunny day on Shili reached afternoon, warm sunlight from the star Shulaar making the day pleasant. The young togruta girl Ahsoka Tano slowly walked up a small grassy hill, approaching a very distinctive structure built into the hill's side. Walking behind her was the dathomirian Asajj Ventress, and to voss Tana-Rey, with the astromech droid R2-D2 following closely behind. The group had arrived to the area a few moments earlier, their rented airspeeder laying on the ground, at the bottom of the hill.

As she approached the ancient looking structure, which looked like the entrance to a tomb to her, Ahsoka glanced to the right, seeing the small village of Kallig's Rest nearby, a few hundred meters away. The young girl hummed quietly to herself, having not seen any of the locals nearby. She hoped that they wouldn't mind her snooping around the tomb of her ancestor, as it more than likely was a site of historical and maybe even cultural importance to the villagers.

Walking up to the stony structure, Ahsoka bit her lip, stopping near the top of a stairwell, that led down to the entrance of the tomb. The young girl clenched her teeth together, as she felt shivers running down her spine, as she glanced at the entrance to the ancient burial place. While the tomb from the outside didn't look like the stereotypical Sith tombs, Ahsoka could still feel a dark presence coming out of it. On the walls of the stairwell were strange inscriptions and symbols, none of which she could interpret. This all felt rather strange to her.

"Well, that's creepy looking for sure. Reminds me a bit of the Sith tombs I saw, while I was Dooku's puppet.." Ventress remarked, as she stopped next to Ahsoka, looking down at the tomb entrance, and placing her hands on her waist. The togruta girl bit her lip, feeling how she became more anxious.

"It doesn't look like a Sith tomb, though.. at least not in my opinion. But I can still feel something... something unsettling.." She replied quietly, rubbing her arm slightly. As Tana-Rey got to the two of them, she too glanced at the entrance, humming quietly.

"Hmm.. I can feel the Force echoing from the tomb in quite fascinating ways. I don't think I have ever felt such tremors. Something truly powerful is hidden there.." The female voss stated, her blue eyes staring at the stone entrance door.

Before the three could do anything further, the sudden sounds of several voices caught their attention. Almost out of thin air, at least four armed togruta men suddenly appeared, deactivating tactical cloaking devices, with which they had hidden themselves. Ahsoka's eyes widened, as the armed togruta surrounded them, their weapons at the ready. As Ventress attempted to grab her lightsabers, her togruta friend placed her hand on her shoulder. Ahsoka believed that the armed men were simply guarding the tomb, and didn't want to kill them. At least, she hoped that was the case.

"Advaa'ed! Cyy'aellas, goneer adaas!" One of the togruta men shouted, speaking togruti. Ahsoka could feel her heart beat faster, as she understood what was being said to her.

Although she preferred basic, the young togruta was fluent in her native language. Jedi Master Shaak Ti, along with other older and experienced togruta Jedi, often taught their young togruta colleagues the language of their homeworld, even if they'd rarely get to use it. Togruti was quite an unique language, as it employed the use of a togruta's lekku and montrals, which would subtly move in different ways during conversation. Distinctive features of the language were long vowel sounds, and occasional trills, which were usually followed by lekku amplified expressions.

"Can you understand them, Ahsoka? What is he saying?" Ventress asked, nervously looking at the togruta men, who still pointed their weapons at them. The dathomirian was clearly on edge, not wanting to give the armed group any chance of taking a shot at her. Ahsoka swallowed audibly, nodding her head.

"He wants to know why we are here.." She quickly explained, after which she took a careful step forward, causing the togruta men to squeeze their weapons tighter in their hands. Ahsoka took a deep breath before speaking, having not spoken in togruti for years.

"Carraa.. sla'een mii Ahsoka Tano. Tarellaas din maka'eer, so yndraas jesh ansartiid sho'akel.." The young girl explained to her fellow togruta, who all glanced at each other for a moment. As she spoke, her lekku twitched and moved subtly, which made Ventress raise her eyebrows, as she had not seen such things before. The leader of the group then grunted quietly, still holding his weapon aimed at her.

"Dramaal, Ahsoka Tano.. chen tree'ad yndeel ansartiid she'kal Dar'lan Kallig? En antellar masda gravii'soe kremaan andee.." The togruta man replied, simply staring at Ahsoka, who raised her eyebrow. Ventress could see her friend's surprised expression, and tapped her shoulder.

"Uh.. what's going on? What is he talking about?" The dathomirian asked, looking around in a slightly paranoid way, as the togruta men weren't lowering their weapons. Ahsoka bit her lip, quickly going over the things the togruta had said to her.

"I have to be the descendant of the _Great Kallig_ , if this tomb belongs to my ancestor. Only Kallig's descendants can enter.." She answered to her friend, who raised her eyebrows as well.

"Okay, great.. we have no idea who this Kallig is, so how can you prove that you're his descendant?" Ventress then asked, her fingers fiddling around her lightsaber hilts again, in case if the situation would escalate. Ahsoka bit her lip again, as she turned her attention to the togruta leader of the armed group.

"Calmaas, ende'iias fren goonesh fr'eel ensartood she'kal Kallig?" The young girl asked, feeling how her heart beat quite fast in her chest.

The togruta man frowned slightly, lowering his weapon, as he quickly glanced at his colleagues. The rest of the togruta lowered their blasters as well, as the leader slowly made his way down to Ahsoka and her friends. The man put his blaster rifle on his back, stopping before the young member of his species. The male togruta was significantly taller than Ahsoka, forcing her to look up, as the man simply grunted at her, and nodded.

"Dromaas, jyynh.." The man uttered, as he turned around, and began to walk down the stairwell towards the entrance. Ahsoka took a deep breath, and gave Ventress, Tana-Rey and R2 a quick glance. She was sure that her friends could understand that the togruta man wanted her to follow him.

The young togruta girl then carefully followed the man to the entrance, walking down the stony stairwell. Ventress and Tana-Rey took a few steps closer, to get a better look, though they were stopped quickly, as the rest of the togruta swiftly raised their weapons at them again, indicating that only Ahsoka could proceed.

As she got to the entrance, Ahsoka could then notice a distinctive panel at the wall next to the door. It looked like an ancient computer console, that she figured would access the door. The togruta man then got her attention, as he nonchalantly took out a military grade knife out of his belt, handing the weapon to her. Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, looking at the togruta man.

"Uhm... tan'aash?" She asked, carefully taking the knife. The togruta man simply nodded towards the computer console on the wall, at which point Ahsoka could notice a small hole in it, placed under a tiny sink-like apparatus. As she stared at the console, Tana-Rey hummed quite audibly, seemingly figuring out what was going on.

"Ah! Of course.. quite fascinating! The computer console is an ancient DNA scanner. You need to insert your own blood into it, and the device will see if your DNA matches with the sample in its databanks. If they're a match, the doors will open.." The voss healer explained, not seeming to mind that several blasters were aimed straight at her. Ahsoka's jaw fell wide open, as she then glanced at the knife. She'd need to injure herself to proceed?

Biting her lip, the young girl slowly stepped over to the console, as the other togruta, and her friends looked on. She could feel her heart racing, as she moved her left hand over the small sink. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, before quickly slicing a wound across her palm with the knife, clenching her teeth as she felt a stinging pain. Opening her eyes again, Ahsoka could see her hand becoming bloody, as the wound bled quite heavily. Turning her hand around, she allowed blood droplets to fall on the sink, and flow into the small hole for a few moments, hoping that something would happen.

Suddenly, the console, as well as the entrance door sprung to life, letting out all kinds of mechanical sounds. After a second of calculating, the doors slowly slid open, sliding into the floor. Ahsoka's eyes widened, as she witnessed the entrance to her ancestor's tomb opening up for her. She then glanced at the togruta man near her, who had a shocked expression on his face. As Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, the man turned towards her, his mouth wide open. The rest of the armed togruta had equally shocked looks on their faces as well.

"The doors.. they open. A true Kallig has returned to us!" The togruta man exclaimed, speaking in basic, which more than surprised Ahsoka, who was taken aback by the man's sudden excitement.

Out of the blue, the togruta man then knelt down in front of the young girl, making her raise her eyebrows again. The other togruta followed their leader's example, kneeling down as well, and bowing their heads, which made Ventress and Tana-Rey look around themselves in confusion.

"My lady! We are your humble servants... the descendants of the all mighty Lord Kallig are just as revered as him.." The togruta man explained, bowing his head to Ahsoka, his voice filled with overwhelming joy, which more than confused the young girl in front of her. Ahsoka couldn't understand what was going on, glancing at her friend Ventress, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Now this is something I wasn't expecting.." The dathomirian uttered, folding her arms. Ahsoka bit her lip, having not expected this either.

As the togruta men kept kneeling in honoring of her, the young girl could suddenly feel the cold breeze of wind flow through her again. Ahsoka sighed quietly, as she closed her eyes for a second. After she opened them again, she could notice her ancestor Ashara Zavros, standing right next to her yet again. The togruta spirit smiled, as she looked around.

"I should probably have told you that the villagers are the descendants of the cult, that followed and served my husband.." Ashara explained quickly, making her descendant raise her eyebrows again. Her ancestors had a cult following them? That more than anything sounded like Sith business to Ahsoka.

"Well... let's go meet him, shall we?" The togruta female then said, before nonchalantly walking into the tomb, beginning to walk down a set of stairs, that lied right behind the now opened doors. After the spirit had disappeared from view, Ahsoka glanced down at the kneeling togruta man.

"You are most welcome to enter Lord Kallig's sacred tomb. We will remain here, and stand guard. Blessed are those who serve the _Lord of the Dead_.." The man remarked, which again made the young togruta woman raise her eyebrow. She was getting more and more unsure about this whole situation.

"Uh.. thanks..." She uttered in response, as the togruta man stood up. After Ahsoka handed the man back his knife, the togruta smiled, and bowed to her again, before turning around, and walking up the stairs.

After the togruta walked past Ventress, Tana-Rey and R2, the three then made their way down the stairs as well, regrouping with Ahsoka, who squeezed her bloodied left hand. As she got to her, the voss healer smiled warmly, and took Ahsoka's hand, holding her right hand over it, and closing her eyes. In the following moments, the voss healer used the power of the Force to heal the bleeding wound on the young togruta's hand. Tana-Rey groaned slightly, using her own life energy to fuel her powers, which troubled Ahsoka, who placed her other hand on the female's shoulder.

"You alright, Tana..? You didn't need to do that, if it's straining for you.." She said quietly to the voss, who took a deep breath, and shook her head, as she finished up healing Ahsoka's hand. The voss female smiled at her, indicating that she was fine.

"A sacrifice is always needed to heal wounds, Lady Tano. And I'm honored to give some of my energy to you." Tana-Rey explained, regaining some of her strength by taking a few deep breaths. After that, she let Ahsoka's hand go, which had been healed now, though the blood still remained.

"Well.. thanks, regardless." The young girl replied with a sweet smile, patting Tana-Rey's shoulder quickly. Ventress in the meanwhile took a few steps towards the entrance to the tomb, breathing in some of the stuffy air coming from inside.

"So, we're just going to walk into this mausoleum, and disturb the dead? I swear that we do weirder and weirder things by the day..." The dathomirian stated, glancing back at the two other women. Ahsoka let out a quiet chuckle as a response.

"Well, at least it's the tomb of my own ancestor, so it's not like we're committing grave robbery.." The young togruta replied with a chuckle, which made her friend roll her eyes, and chuckle as well.

"Yeah, well.. I just hope that your ancestor's spirit is friendly. I think that being confronted by armed cultists is enough action for the day.." Ventress stated, taking a look back at the group of armed togruta men, who now proceeded to stand guard near the tomb once more. Her togruta friend smirked, nodding in agreement.

"Agreed.. though I guess there's only one way to find out." She noted, before she walked past Tana-Rey and Ventress, and stepped over to the doorway. Looking inside, Ahsoka could see another long set of stairs, going further down and into the ground.

She took a few deep breaths, before venturing inside the thousands of years old tomb. As her feet touched the first stairs, dust flew off into the air, indicating just how untouched the place was. The young togruta could feel her heart beating faster with every step she took. She had no idea what she was going to find down there, or if her ancestor would appear, but Ahsoka figured that she had come too far to stop now.

As the young girl walked further down the stairs, Ventress and Tana-Rey stepped into the tomb as well, and began to follow her. R2-D2 stood by the doorway for a few moments, unsure about going in. The small astromech droid however chirped quietly after a moment, and proceeded to enter, and use his mechanical legs to descend the stairs as well.

With luck, Ahsoka would be able to meet her other ancestor in a few moments, the mysterious "Lord of the Dead" Kallig. Whoever this Kallig was, she was sure that he held tremendous power. The ancient Force user could not have attained such a long lasting following, and a cult to his name, unless he was extremely powerful. Ahsoka didn't know if she'd be able to learn the hidden powers her ancestor Ashara believed she held, the young togruta was still sure that she'd at least be able to learn more about her family's history, and delve into the mystery of this place, and the cult that was protecting it.

Even if her ancestor was no Sith, cults and other things like that sure reminded Ahsoka of the Sith Order's traditions, which made her anxious. However, she thought that it was a necessary risk for her to take, if she wanted to find more about the past, and understand what her true potential was. In the end, she knew that she was doing this all to help her friends, and most importantly, to one day be able to live with her love Anakin, for the rest of her days.

 **...**

The echoing sounds of several pairs of boots stomping on the shiny floors of the Supreme Chancellor's office, as five Jedi Masters of the Order moved along the hallway, approaching Chancellor Palpatine's private office. Mace Windu walked at the front of the group of highly skilled and powerful Jedi, a stoic expression on his face, as he and his colleagues made their way to arrest the Chancellor, for being the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious.

As they got closer to the closed doors of the Chancellor's private office, Master Windu looked around, glancing at his fellow Jedi Masters. He knew that they were all ready to take the treacherous Palpatine down by force if necessary, even if the situation was risky, as none of them had ever faced a powerful Sith Master. While Count Dooku was a Sith Lord, he could have never been on the same level as his master. Although Windu hoped that Palpatine would listen to reason, and come with them quietly, he was prepared for a battle, and he hoped that his fellow Masters had prepared themselves accordingly as well.

The five Jedi Masters got to the doorway, as the doors slid open. They entered the private office, stopping near a few steps, that led down to a sunken level in the office, where Chancellor Palpatine was currently seated in front of his holographic intelligence network screen, looking at some holographic blueprints of future Republic weapons and ships, that were being researched currently.

As the Jedi Masters stood straight, and glared at the Supreme Chancellor, the elder human man slowly turned around on his mechanical chair. Master Windu knew that Palpatine more than likely had already sensed him and the other Jedi approach, which only put him on higher alert. The Chancellor stared back at the Jedi, a pleasant smile on his face.

"Master Windu! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Palpatine asked in a friendly manner, looking between the five Jedi Masters, all whom had various kinds of stern expressions on their faces. Mace Windu quickly glanced at his colleagues, who all took out their lightsaber hilts, which prompted him to do the same. As he grabbed his weapon's hilt, he returned his glance at the Chancellor.

"In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, and the Jedi High Council... you are under arrest, Chancellor.." The korun human Jedi Master announced, as his and the other Jedi's lightsabers activated.

Master Windu's purple colored lightsaber blade was very distinctive, next to the green blades that Master Vos, Koth and Fisto owned, and the blue blade that was brandished from Master Kcaj's lightsaber. Chancellor Palpatine had a surprised look on his face, though Windu figured that it was a fake reaction.

"I.. I'm afraid I don't understand, Master Jedi. I don't believe I've broken any law..?" The human man asked, letting out a quiet, slightly nervous sounding laugh. The Jedi Master a few meters in front of him frowned, not buying the Chancellor's act.

"We know you're a Dark Lord of the Sith, Palpatine. Anakin told us.." Windu replied, to which the elder human man let out a quiet "ah", still remaining calm and collected.

"Ah, he did, didn't he? Still.. I don't see how that would be against any Republic law..." The Chancellor then noted, sounding content, and not concerned at all by the fact, that there were five lightsaber wielding Jedi Masters in front of him. Master Vos scoffed slightly, getting increasingly frustrated, as he squeezed his lightsaber tighter in his hand.

"Drop the act, Palps.. we know you were behind the Clone Wars all along. And I'm sure that we can find even more crimes that you've committed over the years.." The kiffar man answered, clenching his teeth slightly, seeming to be a bit on the edge. As Palpatine simply glared at Master Vos, his human colleague then continued.

"Surrender peacefully, and this doesn't have to get messy.." Master Windu stated, no wanting to escalate the situation to needless violence. The Supreme Chancellor glanced at Windu, his expression turning sour.

"Is that a threat, Master Windu?" Palpatine asked, frowning slightly, as his voice changed deeper and more menacing. The Jedi Master at the center of the group did not react to it, and simply scoffed.

"Take it as you wish, Chancellor.. but you are coming with us, so that the Senate can decide your fate.." Master Windu replied sternly, to which the Supreme Chancellor frowned more, before letting out a quiet, devious chuckle.

"Oh, I'm afraid that you're mistaken about that, Master Windu... _I am_ the Senate.." The elder human man assured, smirking devilishly, to which the Jedi Master simply shook his head.

"Not yet." Windu answered calmly, yet very sternly and determinately. The Chancellor simply chuckled at that, before his smirk faded, and a deep, yet calm frown formed on his face.

After that, Palpatine slowly stood up, as the Jedi stood still, preparing for anything. The old human Sith Lord stood by for a few seconds, simply staring at his Jedi opponents. Then, out of the blue, a lightsaber hilt flew across the room, right into the Chancellor's hand, as he had called upon it through the Force. Palpatine frowned deeper, his eyes glaring straight into Windu's.

"It's treason, then..." The man stated menacingly, as he nonchalantly activated his elegantly built lightsaber. A blood red blade brandished from the hilt, as the Sith Lord smirked again, revealing his true nature to the Jedi after so many years of deception.

In an instant, Palpatine suddenly charged forward, spinning in the air dozens of times through the help of the Force, while letting out a powerful, echoing animalistic roar. The Sith Lord lunged at the Jedi, targeting Mace Windu, who prepared himself for combat. As Palpatine got only a few feet away from the human Jedi, intending to strike at him with a high blow, Master Windu used the Force to push himself back to avoid the attack. Eeth Koth and Kit Fisto, who were on Windu's opposite sides, crossed their lightsaber blades in front of Palpatine, successfully blocking the man's attack.

Immediately after locking blades with the zabrak and nautolan Jedi, Palpatine backed away a few feet, before attacking Master Koth with a quick strike. The zabrak Jedi Master was able to block the attack, even if it strained him slightly. Instead of pushing on the offensive, the human Sith Lord suddenly jumped back at Master Fisto, quite athletically performing a flying back kick on the nautolan's upper chest, causing him to stagger back. Palpatine was way faster than a normal human man of his age, showing off just how much the Dark Side amplified his powers.

With Fisto out of the way, the Sith Lord turned his attention back at Master Koth, who took a step back, allowing Master Kcaj to come in to support him. With a psychotic frowned grin, Palpatine lunged forward, attacking the two Jedi Masters. The human man swung his lightsaber around, hitting Master Koth's blade a few times, causing him to fall further back. The ongree Jedi Master Coleman Kcaj pressed forward, coming in front of his colleague, and launching a counterattack at Palpatine.

The ongree male was able to slash at the Sith Lord, forcing the human to deflect his attacks. This left Master Kcaj's side vulnerable though, which Palpatine immediately took advantage of. The Sith Lord struck the ongree male's lightsaber once, forcing him to block the attack. Immediately afterwards, he spun around, moving past Master Kcaj, and positioning himself behind the Jedi. Swinging his lightsaber, Palpatine performed a backwards impaling move, stabbing the ongree Jedi Master in the lower back.

Groaning loudly in pain, Master Kcaj staggered forward. Palpatine then quickly pulled his lightsaber blade out of the ongree's back, and spun around, doing a deep cutting slash at his back. The attack hit Master Kcaj in the back of his neck, nearly cutting off his head. Dying instantly, the ongree man fell on the floor, his lightsaber falling on out his hands, and rolling away on the ground.

Near instantly after the Jedi Master had fell, the kiffar man Quinlan Vos lunged forward, swinging his lightsaber. Master Vos aggressively attacked Palpatine, leaping slightly in the air, and performing a " _Falling Leaf_ " cutting move. The human Sith Lord managed to block the attack, though Master Vos' bodyweight was pushing him down. Seeing an opportunity, Palpatine successfully pushed the kiffar man back with the Force, sending Master Voss flying back. The kiffar Jedi Master collided with Master Fisto, who was standing a few meters back. The two Jedi Masters crumbled on the floor, after first hitting the wall behind them.

After the two were incapacitated, Palpatine returned his attention to Master Koth, who had regained his composure. Before the Sith Lord could turn back around, the zabrak attempted to strike him from behind. Palpatine deflected the attack with talent, raising his lightsaber upwards and behind him, blocking the zabrak's green bladed lightsaber. Before Master Koth could react further, the Sith Lord turned around with lightning speed, and launched a flurry of attacks against the zabrak man again.

Eeth Koth was able to block all of the attacks, but the last of them struck his lightsaber hand to the side, leaving his entire frontal area unprotected. The human Sith Lord smirked, and performed a long swiping downwards cut at the zabrak, striking him all across his chest. After slashing a deep cut on Master Koth, causing the zabrak Jedi to gasp, Palpatine fell on one knee, before turning his lightsaber to point up at the zabrak man, and proceeded to impale him. The red lightsaber blade went straight through Master Koth's chest, killing him in quick fashion, due to his other wounds being mortal as well.

The zabrak Jedi Master's eyes rolled back, after which he fell back on the floor, having already died. Palpatine stood back up, breathing heavily, sweat forming on his forehead. As soon as the Sith Lord turned, Master Windu proceeded to charge at him. The human Jedi Master raised his purple lightsaber high up in the air, and attacked the Chancellor.

The two powerful Force users locked in their blades, Master Windu frowning deeply, as he stared straight into Palpatine's eyes, who clenched his teeth together and grinned. After a few seconds of trying to push each other back, the human Sith Lord groaned in anger, and managed push Windu off of him. The elder man then immediately hurled a barrage of Force lightning at the human Jedi Master, who managed to block the incoming electricity. The lightning however forced Master Windu to fall back several meters into the nearby hallway, as Palpatine continued to attack him with his Force powers.

After a few seconds, the Sith Lord stopped, as he could hear the sound of two lightsabers activating near him. Palpatine turned to his right, and was met with Masters Fisto and Vos running at him, swinging their lightsabers to launch an aggressive attack against him. The human Sith Lord growled, and spun around again, deflecting Master Vos' attack, and moving past him, blocking the nautolan Jedi Master's strike as well. Palpatine proceeded to strike at Master Fisto several times, forcing the nautolan man to fall back slightly.

As the two approached the hallway leading out of the private office, Quinlan regained his focus, and ran towards the Sith Lord from behind him, attempting to quickly kill him with a backstab. Palpatine struck a staggering blow at Kit Fisto with unnatural speed, which allowed him to then turn around, and block Master Vos' attack, and to lock blades with him. The two weren't able to stay in the blade lock for long, before the Sith Lord pushed the kiffar man back a few feet, and launched a barrage of Force lightning at him as well.

The electric wave of energy hit Master Vos point blank, sending him hurled back into the private office. The kiffar Jedi Master flew straight into the Chancellor's desk, hitting the chair Palpatine had sat on just a few moments ago. Quinlan grunted in pain, rolling on the floor then, his lightsaber falling out of his hands, and his body smoking slightly from the lightning. The kiffar man was incapacitated yet again.

After that, Palpatine could focus on Master Fisto again, who had regained his composure, and was now attempting to attack the Sith Master. The human man clenched his teeth together again, and swung his lightsaber around, clashing the blades together with the nautolan Jedi. After striking each other's blades a few times, Palpatine suddenly ducked, and avoided the nautolan's slashing attack. Crouched on the floor, the Sith Lord quickly spun around, and slashed at Master Fisto's stomach, landing a successful hit.

The nautolan Jedi Master moaned in pain, as the lightsaber wound burned him, though not being deep enough to be lethal. Master Fisto fell on his knee, grasping his stomach with his left hand, while continuing to hold his lightsaber in his right one. Palpatine stood up in quick fashion, snarling at the downed nautolan. As the human man raised his lightsaber slightly, Master Fisto attempted to protect himself, raising his own blade to defend against an attack.

The Sith Lord had expected this, as he instead performed a quick slashing attack at the nautolan, hitting his fingers, and causing his lightsaber to fly off his hand. Immediately after that, Palpatine swung his lightsaber once, before impaling Kit Fisto right through his heart, killing the nautolan man in mere seconds.

The human Sith Lord pulled his lightsaber blade out of Master Fisto's chest after a few seconds, allowing the nautolan fall dead on the floor. In less than a minute, three powerful Jedi Masters had already died by the Sith Lord's blade. As Palpatine breathed heavily, he looked up from Master Fisto's body, and could see Master Windu standing several meters away from him in the hallway, looking almost enraged. The elder human Sith Lord grinned devilishly, feeling the aura of the Dark Side flowing strongly through himself.

"And now it is your turn to fall, Master Windu.. as all Jedi will!" Palpatine growled at the stern Master Windu, who frowned deeply, and glared at him.

"I don't think so.." The dark skinned human Jedi replied in a low, slightly raspy voice. Master Windu was done playing around, and was determined to now take down the treacherous Chancellor.

As the two stared at each other, Master Windu deactivated his lightsaber for a short moment. The veteran Jedi Master then removed his brown cloaked robes, to allow himself more mobility. After dropping the robes on the floor, now only wearing his regular Jedi attire, Master Windu activated his purple bladed lightsaber yet again, and assumed the opening stance of the Vapaad lightsaber form.

Palpatine frowned, and clenched his teeth, angry at the fact that his opponent did not hinge at his attempt at taunting him. The human Sith Lord then squeezed his lightsaber in his hands, and lunged forward, using the Force once again to vastly increase his speed. Leaping across the air, Palpatine moved up to Master Windu, who successfully blocked his charging attack, though being forced to stagger back slightly. After landing on the floor again, the Sith Lord launched a vicious flurry of attacks, slashing and striking at the Jedi Master in quick fashion. Windu was able to deflect and block each of the attacks, while calmly falling back across the hallway.

As the two continued to battle, approaching the entrance to the Chancellor's office proper, Master Vos groaned in pain, and moved slightly on the floor, back inside the Chancellor's private office. The kiffar man's clothes were still smoking slightly, having been burned and damaged by Palpatine's earlier Force lightning attack. Quinlan grunted quietly, slowly pushing himself up, as he tried to regain his composure.

After a few moments of catching his breath, and gathering his strength, the kiffar man sighed deeply, and took a glance at the nearby hallway, seeing his colleague battle the Supreme Chancellor, their lightsabers constantly clashing against each other. Quinlan then took a short moment to look at the bodies of his fallen Jedi friends, closing his eyes and lowering his head to honor their memory.

After that, the kiffar Jedi Master opened his eyes again, and frowned deeply, his mind and heart filling with anger. Breathing heavier, Quinlan quickly called his lightsaber hilt to his hand by using the Force. He then activated the weapon, and launched himself forward, jumping in the air.

The kiffar man did a flip in the air, before landing on the floor near the doorway. Quinlan looked up, frowning deeper, as he begun to sprint towards Master Windu and Palpatine, who were now entering the proper office area. The kiffar Jedi Master felt more and more anger flowing through him, feeling as if he was in the grip of the Dark Side again. Quinlan knew how destructive the darkness was to him, but he did not care about it much right now, as he was overwhelmed by anger and hatred for the Chancellor, seeing the Sith Lord slaughter his friends without mercy.

He was determined to kill the traitor to the Republic, no matter what it would take. Palpatine had missed the chance of getting out of this alive, having signed his death sentence the moment he had killed three Jedi Masters. And bringing the Sith Lord to justice, by taking his life, was exactly what Master Vos was going to do.

 **...**

The sun had set on Coruscant, the sky now nearly completely dark, excluding the bright lights coming from the hundreds of skyscrapers and buildings all around the surface of this portion of the planet. The lights on the Jedi Temple's windows, and a few spotlights outside of the building also lit up the sky a little bit, even though the Temple was known to be mostly darkened during the night.

Inside the Jedi High Council Chamber, Anakin was still sitting on his Council seat. The young Jedi Master had stayed still ever since his fellow Jedi colleagues had left to confront Chancellor Palpatine. Anakin had no idea what he was supposed to do, as he had only become more conflicted about the entire situation surrounding him and his longtime mentor and friend.

The young man's mind was also filled with thoughts of his lover Ahsoka constantly. Anakin had become even more anxious now, than he was when Master Windu and the others had left. He was afraid that Chancellor Palpatine would be killed by his colleagues, and his best chance at finding out more about Darth Plagueis' powers of preventing the death of his loved ones. His fear of one day losing the love of his life to death was getting the better of him, clouding the young Jedi Master's judgment.

Anakin knew that his fears were setting him on the path to the Dark Side, something that Master Yoda had warned him about so many years ago. He knew full well how dangerous it was for him to let his fears take control of him, but the young Jedi was nearing a dead end, and grew more and more desperate.

Sighing audibly, the young man leaned back on his seat, and looked out of the windows that surrounded the Council Chambers. As he could spot the Republic Executive Building in the horizon, Anakin's heart began to race, and he could feel sweat forming on his forehead. He moved his hand to his chin, stroking it slightly, as he sighed again. His hands were shaking, his fear of losing Palpatine, and through that Ahsoka, was getting the better of him.

He wanted nothing more than to be with his lover, despite all the promises and oaths he had given to the Jedi. No matter his loyalties to them, Anakin was determined to one day leave the Order behind, and pursue a normal life with Ahsoka. And the possibility of achieving that life was slipping from his grasp with each passing moment, as the possibility of Master Windu and the rest of the Jedi defeating, and killing Palpatine increased as an eventuality.

Squeezing his hands together, Anakin quickly stood up from his seat, sighing audibly. He then walked to the elevator, that would lead him down the High Council Tower, back to the lower levels of the Jedi Temple. He now knew that he could not let his mentor die, as Palpatine was the only way for him to find a way to save Ahsoka's life, if she were to face death in the future.

Anakin knew that he was taking an awful risk, defying Master Windu's wishes of him staying at the Jedi Temple. But he had no other options, he had to see Palpatine survive the confrontation. He had no intentions on letting the Chancellor get away with his crimes, but he needed the information his friend and mentor had concerning Darth Plagueis. And that information was invaluable to him, if he wished to pursue the knowledge to stop the deaths of his loved ones.

No matter how dangerous and risky it was, or morally ambiguous, Anakin had to do whatever was necessary to save the life of his lover. He could not live without Ahsoka, and even if it cost his relations to the Jedi, he was willing to do anything to keep her alive and safe. Anakin did not want to do anything rash, but if saving the one person he loved more than anything would force him to do such things, he was prepared to do them. Despite his fears and doubts, the one thing Anakin was determined to do, now and forever, was keeping Ahsoka safe.

 **...**

The sounds of lightsabers clashing against one another filled the atmosphere inside the Supreme Chancellor's office. Jedi Master Mace Windu and the Sith Lord Palpatine ferociously battled each other, as they moved further into the office, having entered from the hallway that led to the Chancellor's private office. The two of them locked in blades for a quick second, staring deep into each other's eyes.

Master Windu frowned deeply, being completely focused in his use of the highly aggressive and effective Vapaad lightsaber form. Palpatine clenched his teeth, grinning and growling, as he was finding it difficult to get any offensive going against the powerful Jedi Master.

After the two pushed each other away a few feet, the human Sith Lord could then spot the kiffar Jedi Quinlan Voss charge at him, raising his lightsaber high in the air, and roaring in anger. The Jedi Master lunged at Palpatine, striking down at him, and forcing the human man to defend himself. Their blades clashed, as the kiffar male pushed him back, towards the Chancellor's desk. The elder Sith Lord managed to slip away from the blade lock, moving past Master Vos, and trying to get behind him. To Palpatine's bad luck, Master Windu was only a few meters behind Quinlan, ready to attack him again.

The Chancellor blocked the human Jedi Master's attack, though finding it increasingly difficult to defend against Vapaad. Palpatine had never faced such mastery of focus from a Jedi before, and the fact that Windu used the Dark Side to fuel his power was also something that had caught the Sith Lord off guard. As he and Master Windu struck their blades against each other again, Master Vos turned around, and proceeded to attack the Chancellor as well.

Palpatine quickly turned around, and deflected the kiffar's attack, though having to immediately turn yet again, and protect himself from Master Windu's incoming attacks. He was now sandwiched between the two Jedi Masters, who were a much bigger obstacle for him, than the three previous Masters, as both Windu and Vos were using their anger to their advantage.

The Jedi kept attacking the Republic Chancellor, who grew increasingly winded from having to defend himself from attacks coming from both directions. As Quinlan angrily attempted to impale Palpatine from behind, the Sith Lord used the Jedi's momentum to his advantage. The elder human man dodged the thrusting attack, moving past the kiffar man, who nearly impaled his own Jedi colleague, who had to deflect Quinlan's incoming lightsaber blade with his own. As they slightly bumped into each other, the human Jedi Master quickly shoved his kiffar colleague to the side, and proceeded to lunge at Palpatine again, who backed down a few meters, his back hitting the Chancellor's desk.

The Sith Lord bit his lip, raising his lightsaber up to protect himself, as Master Windu slashed at him, their blades clashing against each other again. As they were in the blade lock, the human Jedi pushed the elder man down, so that he leant back against the desk even more. Palpatine grinned, as he strained to keep Windu's blade from overpowering him. He managed to slip away again, as he stopped trying to push the Jedi Master back, and instead quickly moved to his right, slipping past Master Windu, whose lightsaber hit the desk.

After stepping past the human Jedi Master, Palpatine was met with Master Vos' ferocious offensive again, forcing him to continue to defend himself, as the kiffar man launched a flurry of vicious strikes at him. Quinlan was letting the darkness overwhelm him, despite the fact that the Jedi teachings about always avoiding it. But he was so overwhelmed with rage and desire to destroy the Sith, that it was getting the better of him.

After a few short moments of dueling, Master Vos struck his lightsaber against Palpatine's, and initiated a blade lock. As they attempted to push each other back, the Sith Lord had to focus all of his energy into just keeping the enraged kiffar man from overpowering him. Having to resort to unconventional methods, Palpatine suddenly kicked Quinlan's shin with his feet, distracting the Jedi Master, and ending the blade lock. The Sith Lord then immediately struck the kiffar man's blade away, and performed a swift gracing blow at his right leg with the edge of his lightsaber, causing a minor wound.

Quinlan hissed in pain, as the wound burned hot on his leg. After applying the _shiim_ maneuver, that wounded the kiffar man, Palpatine took quick advantage, and launched a barrage of Force lightning at him. The electricity hit Quinlan again, sending him flying back several meters, as Palpatine used Force push in tandem with his Force lightning attack. The kiffar Jedi Master flew across the office, hitting a statue placed in front of the back wall, shattering it as he went through it, and hit the wall behind it. He groaned in pain, falling on the floor, and once again was incapacitated from the battle.

After taking the kiffar man out of the fight, Palpatine could take a deep breath, and try to gather back some of his energy. Sensing Master Windu closing in from behind him, the Sith Lord had to quickly turn around, and block the Jedi Master's attack. Windu strongly clashed his blade against Palpatine's, his breathing calm, and his mind focused. He was fully immersed in the moment, using Vapaad to its full effect. Pushing the Chancellor back, the human Jedi was able to instill some fear into the Sith Lord, which was something that the elder human man had not felt in decades.

Hitting a chair behind him, Palpatine nearly tripped, and lost his focus. Breathing heavily, the man quickly managed to slip away from the blade lock yet again, swiftly taking several steps back from the Jedi Master, moving to the other side of his Chancellor's desk. Windu took a deep breath, following the Sith Lord with his gaze, as the two had a short moment to catch their breaths.

Frowning deeper, Master Windu then swung his lightsaber around, and suddenly leapt over the desk, attacking Palpatine with a leaping strike. The Sith Lord gasped slightly, as the human Jedi came down at him, forcing him to quickly move to his left, dodging the strike. As soon as Windu landed on the floor, Palpatine took full advantage on the situation, and ferociously attacked him, grinding his teeth strongly together. The two powerful Force users once again dueled each other viciously, both equally as determined to strike the other down, and bring an end to this spectacle. One of them would die at the end, and that was for certain.

 **...**

The doors to the waiting room of the Chancellor's office opened up, Anakin sprinting through the doorway afterwards, panting slightly. The human Jedi Master sprinted past the couches and tables placed in the waiting room, heading towards the doors to the office. He had made his way to the Republic Executive Building as fast as he could, determined to make sure that Chancellor Palpatine would survive his confrontation with the Jedi.

Running towards the doors, he could suddenly feel the presence of someone in the room with him, standing only a few feet from his position. Out of the blue, Anakin could hear the sound of a lightsaber activating, and in an instant, a red blade swung at his face. Still running, the human man quickly dropped on his knees, sliding across the floor, and dodging the incoming lightsaber blade.

Immediately turning around, as he jumped back up, Anakin grabbed his lightsaber, and activated it, taking a look at who had tried to attack him. Not surprised to see her, the Jedi Master could notice the mirialan Dark Jedi Barriss Offee, holding her red bladed lightsaber, as she turned towards him, having failed in her attack. Anakin could then also see the weequay Dark Jedi Sora Bulq appear, walking from behind a statue that was placed on the hallway. The two Dark Jedi had definitely waited for him to come to the Chancellor's office, so that they could try to kill him.

"Nicely missed, Barriss.." The weequay man uttered to his apparent rival, who frowned, and growled at him.

"Shut up, Bulq!" Barriss hissed, squeezing her lightsaber tighter in her hands, as she returned her attention to Anakin, who bit his lip, looking between the two. He could not delay any further, as he was sure that his mentor and friend was in trouble beyond the doors behind him, but he could not also turn his back on the two Dark Jedi, who were out to kill him.

"Listen, you two.. I have no time for messing around. Just let me pass, and walk away... and that'll be the end of it.." Anakin stated to them, not having the patience to indulge in a pointless duel, even though he still desired to kill the mirialan. Barriss and Bulq quickly glanced at each other, before the weequay Dark Jedi simply scoffed, and turned back to the human man, activating his own lightsaber.

"Yeah.. not a chance, Skywalker..." Bulq replied in a monotone voice, giving a slight smirk to the human Jedi Master, who sighed in frustration, and raised his lightsaber to prepare.

In the following moment, both Bulq and Barriss moved in on Anakin, swinging their lightsabers, and attacking the human man, who successfully deflected their first strikes. The Jedi Master retaliated by slashing at Barriss, who had to fall back a few steps, and protect herself with her lightsaber. Before Anakin could launch another offensive against her, Bulq stepped in, and got the human's attention, using Vapaad skillfully, though not as expertly as his former friend and co-developer of the form, Mace Windu.

As the two men engaged each other in a duel, though not having much room to maneuver, Barriss regained her focus again, taking a deep breath. She had not forgotten how close she came to death, when she had dueled Anakin the last time, aboard the Peacemaker. The young mirialan woman was not confident in her ability to beat the human Jedi, as evidenced by her past failures at beating him in combat. Trying not to lose her focus again, Barriss sighed, and held her lightsaber tighter again, rejoining the duel between Bulq and Anakin.

The trio then continued to ferociously battle each other, Barriss and Bulq striking at Anakin in turns, keeping the human Jedi Master busy. The young human man grew increasingly angry and frustrated, as well as anxious, as he knew that Palpatine was more than likely facing difficulties with Master Windu and the other Jedi. He needed to end this pointless duel with the two underlings immediately, or he'd miss his chance at preventing the Chancellor's death. He had to keep his Jedi colleagues from slaying Palpatine, so that he could have any hope at saving his lover.

 **...**

The low hum of the two lightsabers of Mace Windu and Chancellor Palpatine echoed in the office, as the two opponents stared at each other, standing a few meters from one another, both winded from the intensive dueling that had taken place in the previous moments. The human Sith Lord grinned his teeth together, his slightly sweaty hands both holding his red lightsaber.

The two stood right by the panoramic window, that was placed behind the Chancellor's working desk and chair. Outside, the night was starting to fall, as sun had now completely set, the millions of light sources coming from the many nearby skyscrapers of the Galactic City lessening the darkness.

After a few moments of preparing, Master Windu went on the offensive again, lunging at Palpatine, and swinging his lightsaber around. The blades clashed against each other a few times, both of the combatants doing their best at trying to find any weaknesses in each other, as the duel had taken a toll on their energy. The human Sith Lord Palpatine especially had exhausted himself slightly, even if the Dark Side gave him unnatural strength. Still, as he was an older man, his energy was not limitless, even with the help of his dark powers.

As Master Windu ended his offensive, Palpatine counterattacked immediately afterwards. The Sith Lord growled audibly, pushing himself to launch vicious strikes and slashes at the Jedi Master, who was still able to deflect them all, with his usage of Vapaad. After striking Windu's blade yet again, the human Jedi was able to deflect the attack, and stagger Palpatine slightly. He then immediately took advantage of that, and spun himself around, performing a spinning strike.

As he attempted to slash at Palpatine, the elder human man ducked, his own lightsaber striking the window right beside him, as his arms extended from him maneuvering. The window shattered into a million pieces, the wind from the outside immediately pushing the two duelists back slightly.

After Palpatine got back up, he was met with Master Windu's ferocious strikes yet again. The Jedi Master fueled all his anger and hatred into his attacks, his mastery of Vapaad keeping him from falling to the Dark Side. He swung his lightsaber again, hitting the Sith Lord's blade with tremendous speed and power. Palpatine had to take a few steps back, as he defended himself from the incoming attacks. The human man stepped on the window frame, blocking Master Windu's lightsaber strikes to the best of his abilities.

After a few seconds, Palpatine managed to dodge one of Windu's attacks, causing the Jedi Master's attack to miss him widely. The Sith Lord took immediate advantage, putting all of his energy and power to the following counterattack. Palpatine swung his lightsaber widely, aggressively taking steps towards Master Windu, who had to step on the window frame as well, and fall back a few meters, raising his own blade to defend himself from the Sith Lord's flurry of strikes.

Palpatine was unable to break the Jedi's defense, forcing him to initiate a blade lock, as he hit Master Windu with a powerful strike for the last time. The human Sith Lord clenched his teeth together, trying his hardest to push Windu back, who frowned deeply in response, holding his ground. The two of them stared at each other for a few long seconds, both of their faces filled with sheer determination and hatred for one another. Master Windu was determined to bring the murderous Chancellor to justice, through his death or otherwise, and Palpatine was determined to keep himself alive, and destroy his Jedi enemies.

The blade lock was ended suddenly by Master Windu, who aggressively pushed Palpatine away, staggering the elder man. The Jedi Master followed that with a quick, yet powerful strike, swinging his lightsaber to the left. The slash struck Palpatine's lightsaber, being so powerful that the human Sith Lord lost the hold of it. The red bladed lightsaber flew off the Chancellor's hand, flying out of the window, and falling down, away from view.

Immediately after disarming the Sith Lord, Master Windu swung his lightsaber back, and performed a strong kick, hitting Palpatine straight on his chest. The strength of the kick was enough to push the air out of the elder human's lungs, causing him to gasp loudly, as he fell on his back on the window frame.

After catching his breath for a second, Palpatine looked up, as Windu swung his lightsaber again, and approached him, walking on the window frame. The Sith Lord's face was filled with fear, as he gasped in terror, quickly turning around, and crawling along the window frame's bottom, towards the back end of the frame. As the disarmed Chancellor retreated, turning back around, as he reached the wall of the window frame, leaning on it, Master Windu followed him closely, pointing his lightsaber blade at him.

As he reached Palpatine, Windu held his lightsaber blade close to the man's throat, making sure that he wasn't going anywhere. The Sith Lord breathed heavily, exhausted from the fight, as was his Jedi opponent, who was panting as well. Frowning deeply again, the dark skinned korun human Jedi Master took a deep breath, looking down at Palpatine.

"You are under arrest... my Lord.." He remarked, almost mocking the defeated Sith Lord, as he calmed his breathing.

Palpatine still panted, his face filled with fear. The elder human man then slowly lifted his hands up, signaling his surrender. Master Windu had won this duel, but with a heavy cost. Three strong Jedi Master had been slain, and Master Quinlan Vos was gravely injured, still lying on the floor nearby, though trying to slowly get up. The fight had taken a toll on all the participators, both physically and mentally.

What would happen in the following moments was unknowable, but Master Windu was determined to make sure that the now exposed Sith Lord would truly surrender, and come with them for judgment. But if Palpatine would still put up a fight, the Jedi Master was prepared to execute him. Windu was not taking any chances anymore, not after witnessing some of the strongest Jedi being slain in such a quick succession by the Dark Lord.

 **...**

Anakin clenched his teeth together, straining his strength, as he tried to hold back Barriss, who was in the middle of an intense blade lock with him. The mirialan woman did her best at trying to push back the human man, seeing as her and Bulq's efforts had been for vain so far, with Anakin not showing any signs of defeat.

Bulq, who stood nearby, had taken a short moment to regain his composure, and assess the situation, and try to come up with a strategy to take down Anakin. Not able to think up anything, the weequay Dark Jedi simply resorted to charging at the Jedi Master again, trying to surprise him from the side, as he was busy holding back Barriss.

As the weequay man raised his lightsaber high, attempting to strike down Anakin, the human Jedi had to shift his focus at him. Turning his head towards Bulq, he reached out with his left hand, using the Force to keep the weequay back. Bulq hadn't expected the move, being pushed back slightly as the result. Despite his best efforts, the Dark Jedi was not able to move an inch forward, as Anakin held him back with the Force.

Turning his focus back at Barriss, the human Jedi Master grunted quietly, his job at holding the mirialan back becoming even harder, as he now held his lightsaber with only one hand. Barriss knew this, and smirked, pushing even stronger, as she was determined to break Anakin's defense, and strike him down. The human man bit his lip strongly, having to think for a solution quickly. After looking around for a second, he had an idea. He'd need to let Bulq go, and slip away from the blade lock he was in with Barriss currently.

After a few seconds, Anakin took a deep breath, and initiated his plan. Letting go of Bulq with the Force, the human man then suddenly pulled his lightsaber back slightly, forcing Barriss to move forward, as she was still pushing him back. Stepping back, and slipping past the mirialan, Barriss gasped, as she couldn't control her momentum. The young woman collided with her weequay partner and rival, causing Bulq to groan in frustration, as he tried to push the mirialan aside.

Now that Anakin was facing the two, and wasn't flanked by anyone, he had the advantage. Without a second thought, the human Jedi used all of his power to launch a strong Force push, hurling the two Dark Jedi back, and causing them to slam against the wall behind them. If they had been standing a few meters farther from the wall, the force behind the powerful push would have surely broken their bones.

As Bulq and Barriss collapsed on the floor, both groaning in pain, and being incapacitated from the fight, Anakin wasted no time taking off his dark cloak, to allow himself to move quicker. He then immediately turned towards the doors to the Chancellor's office, and used the Force to slide them open. After the doors were open, he quickly jogged inside.

As soon as he entered, Anakin could spot Master Windu and Chancellor Palpatine at the large window frame behind the Chancellor's desk. He could see that the Jedi Master was holding the terrified looking elder man down, his lightsaber nearly touching Palpatine's throat. Biting his lip, the young man began to walk towards them with quick steps. As he approached them, Anakin could also spot Master Vos, slowly getting to his feet near a wall at the other end of the office. He could clearly see that the kiffar man had been gravely injured during the fight.

After walking up to Master Windu and Palpatine, the dark skinned Jedi Master noticed his young colleague, and slightly lifted his left hand up, signaling Anakin to stay a few meters away from them. As he stopped and looked at the two, Anakin could see the fear that was instilled on his old mentor's face. Palpatine glanced at him, nearly hyperventilating.

"Anakin! You see!? The Jedi can't be trusted! They're trying to take over!" The elder man exclaimed in a terrified voice, which confused Anakin. He had no idea if his friend was faking it, or if he truly was fearful of Master Windu, and what he might do to him.

"Even if we were, a Jedi Chancellor would be infinitely better than you; the oppression of the Sith shall never return! You have lost!" Windu remarked, his face filled with determination.

Anakin raised his eyebrow slightly; Master Windu wasn't really thinking about putting the Jedi Order in power, was he? As he thought about what was happening, Anakin could then see Palpatine's fear fade slightly, as the elder man frowned deeply.

"No... no, no! _You_ will die, scum!" The Chancellor shouted, before launching an immense barrage of Force lightning at the Jedi Master.

The electricity nearly hit Master Windu in the face, but he was able to block the attack with his lightsaber. As Palpatine continued to use Force lightning on Windu, the sparks of powerful and deadly electricity flew all around, as the Jedi Master's purple bladed lightsaber absorbed and deflected the attack. Anakin had to take a step back, and cover his face slightly, to avoid any electricity hitting him.

"He's a traitor, Anakin!" Palpatine shouted, barraging Master Windu with Force lightning, straining the korun human's energy greatly.

" _He's_ the traitor!" Windu shouted back, before letting out a pained moan, finding it extremely difficult to keep his defense up. Anakin breathed heavily, finding himself in conflict, as he stared at the two, seeing the Chancellor's powers fading visibly, as his lightning attack grew weaker.

"Only I can help you save the ones you love!" Palpatine exclaimed, looking at Anakin with desperate eyes, reminding him of the fact that he knew Darth Plagueis' secrets. The young human man squeezed his hands together, biting his lip again, as he didn't want to believe the fact that he needed Palpatine.

"No! Don't listen to his lies, Anakin!" Master Windu implored, trying to convince the young Jedi Master to not believe anything that the Sith Lord told him. After a few seconds of continuing to hit Windu with his Force lightning, Palpatine began to fall back against the wall, as he seemed weaker.

"Anakin, I can't hold out any longer.. I'm... I'm too weak! Don't let him kill me.. please! Help me... help me!" The elder man pleaded, before suddenly ending his Force lightning attack, and falling back on the window frame, lying down and breathing heavily.

Master Windu grunted loudly, as the electricity current stopped. The Jedi Master panted heavily, looking down at the Sith Lord. Anakin's heart was pounding in his chest, as he started between Palpatine and Windu. He felt incredibly afraid, now more than ever.

"This ends now, once and for all!" The Jedi Master exclaimed, while panting, and gathering his strength again. Anakin could hear the hatred Windu had for Palpatine in his voice, which only increased the young man's worries. He took a step forward, knowing that this couldn't happen.

"Master, you can't! He must stand trial! We can't kill an unarmed prisoner.." He argued at his colleague, who gave him a deep frown.

"He has control of both the Senate, and the courts! He's too dangerous to be left alive, Anakin!" Master Windu shouted back at him, not willing to let Palpatine live through this, which seemed to especially frighten the old man.

"No.. please don't kill me!" The Chancellor pleaded, his eyes even starting to get watery. Anakin bit his lip, feeling sweat rolling down his forehead.

"But it's not the Jedi way, Master Windu. Please.. he must live!" The young man begged, his voice breaking slightly, as he felt more and more desperate. He couldn't let the one chance he had at keeping Ahsoka alive be destroyed. Master Windu didn't seem to care, as he glared at Palpatine with anger, breathing heavier, and slowly raising his lightsaber. The Sith Lord's eyes widened, and he trembled.

"Please, don't!" The elder human man pleaded again, almost ready to cry, as he seemed to be so deathly afraid. Anakin's heart beat even faster, and his lip trembled.

"I need him, master!" He tried to implore, but his Jedi colleague simply shook his head, as he raised his lightsaber higher, ready to strike down the Sith Lord, who closed his eyes, and begged for mercy.

Anakin could feel as if time stopped for a moment. He could only stare at Master Windu in horror, as the Jedi Master proceeded to execute the Chancellor. Anakin's fear of losing the chance to save Ahsoka grew immense, as he begun to hyperventilate. He couldn't let this happen, he could not lose the love of his life. His eyes widened, as he gave in to his instincts.

"NO!" The young Jedi Master shouted at the top of his lungs, as he grabbed his lightsaber, and activated it. Anakin swung wildly at Master Windu, wanting to stop him from killing Palpatine at all costs.

Due to sheer luck, or unnatural perceptiveness, Windu was able to spot Anakin's incoming swing, which forced him to quickly deactivate his lightsaber, and duck, dodging the young man's attack. Anakin missed widely, gasping in shock, as Master Windu turned his attention to him. The dark skinned Jedi Master activated his lightsaber again, and swung it once, before striking at Anakin, who had to quickly defend himself. The two initiated a blade lock, with Master Windu staring at Anakin with shock.

"What are you doing!?" The man demanded, frowning deeply, as his lightsaber blade was held against Anakin's, who breathed heavily, feeling as if his heart was about to stop.

"I still need him alive, master! I need information from him!" He explained, his voice trembling slightly, as he felt afraid and desperate. Master Windu couldn't believe his ears, frowning deeper.

"Come to your senses, Anakin! What could he possibly provide you with!?" The Jedi Master asked in anger, not seeing Anakin's reasons to wanting to save Palpatine.

Before the young man could reply, a violent flash of lightning struck at them, hitting Master Windu. The Jedi Master was completely blind sighted by the attack, having not prepared for it. The sparks hit Anakin as well, forcing him to step back, and protect himself. To his horror, he could see Chancellor Palpatine using Force lightning again, as if he was never weakened at all.

"POWER! UNLIMITED POWEEER!" The Sith Lord shouted loudly, the fear having completely disappeared from his face, having been replaced by an exhilarated expression.

The electric bolts hitting Master Windu completely disabled the Jedi Master, making him tremble and shout in pain, as he couldn't protect himself in any way. Anakin could feel a tear roll down his cheek, as he was powerless to stop any of it from happening. He had just doomed his superior Jedi colleague to a torture filled death.

After a few seconds of blasting the Jedi Master with powerful Force lightning, Palpatine then suddenly hurled Master Windu out of the window, making him fall hundreds of meters down, his smoking body disappearing from sight, as he fell down to the depths of Coruscant. Anakin breathed heavily, as he could only watch the Jedi's fall in sheer horror.

Silence fell into the office, as Anakin took a few steps back in shock. The young man leaned on the Chancellor's desk, not able to calm his breathing. He couldn't quite come to terms with what had just happened.

"M-master Windu.." He uttered quietly, his voice shaking, as well as his hands. He couldn't believe what he had done; he couldn't accept that he had just caused the death of one of the strongest Jedi Masters in history, and the former _Master of the Order_.

As Anakin stayed leaning on desk, pondering on what he had just done, nearly bursting out in tears, Chancellor Palpatine had an all too content look on his face, smirking deviously, as he slowly got up from the window frame. The Sith Lord's eyes were glowing bright yellowish-orange, indicating his full immersion in the Dark Side at the moment.

Anakin buried his face in his hands, still breathing heavily, as he couldn't calm himself. He had gone too far this time, and for that, he felt extreme regret. Before he could turn his attention to Palpatine, who had now stood up completely, Anakin could suddenly hear the sound of a lightsaber activating somewhere behind him.

"TRAITOR!" A male voice shouted loudly, which Anakin recognized being Master Vos'. As the young human turned around, he could see the kiffar Jedi Master stare at him with enraged eyes, before jumping high in the air.

Anakin's heart began to pound in his chest again, as he was forced to grab his lightsaber, and activate it, only a second or so before Master Vos came down, and viciously attacked him, slashing and striking at him with great fervor. The kiffar Jedi used all of his anger, taking it out on Anakin, who backed away, blocking Quinlan's attacks as well as he could.

As Palpatine looked at the duel, smirking even more, the kiffar Jedi Master continued to strike out against his human colleague, who backed himself against the Chancellor's desk. Anakin had to dodge Quinlan's ferocious attack, as the kiffar man struck down at him, causing a deep cut on the Chancellor's working desk.

The young human Jedi stepped away from the desk, falling back to the center of the office. He swung his lightsaber, glaring at Master Vos, who panted behind the Chancellor's desk, his eyes filled with anger. Anakin bit his lip, his hands sweaty, as he didn't want to fight the kiffar Jedi. Quinlan groaned in anger, before leaping across the desk, once again attacking his human colleague.

The two continued to battle at the center of the office, Anakin blocking and deflecting the Jedi Master's flurry of attacks, while not going on the offensive himself. Master Vos kept striking his blade, attempting to break the young man's defense. After a short moment, their blades clashed again, this time initiating a blade lock. Quinlan pushed real close to Anakin's face, grinding his teeth together.

"You'll have to kill me, Anakin... there's no way out of this, boy.." The kiffar Jedi Master remarked, breathing heavily, as he hold his lightsaber blade against Anakin's, who shook his head.

"I don't want this! I don't want to fight you!" He replied, trying to reason with the Jedi Master, who frowned, and shook his head now.

"It's too late, Anakin! Can't you see!? You're theirs now! You've already fallen.." Quinlan answered angrily, pushing back the human slightly, who bit his lip, not wanting to believe it.

"I... I didn't mean to.." Anakin said quietly, feeling fear, regret and anguish at the situation. His kiffar Jedi colleague sighed, frowning deeper.

"Just remember.. the Sith will always betray you in the end..." Quinlan explained, which sent shivers down the young human's spine. He had no desire to become Sith, he only ever wanted to keep Ahsoka safe. None of this was what he wanted.

"Quinlan.. don't do this. I don't want to kill you.." Anakin stated, still holding himself in blade lock with the kiffar man, who frowned deeply, looking even more angry.

"Then I'll kill you instead!" The Jedi Master shouted, before pushing Anakin off of him. The young human took a few steps back, biting his lip, as he still didn't want this fight to happen.

Master Vos stared at him for a few seconds, breathing heavily, and channeling his hatred and anger. Anakin could feel the kiffar man wandering off to the path of the Dark, feeling so frustrated and angry that the Sith had seemingly won. Giving himself to the Dark Side, Quinlan's eyes turned glowingly yellow, after which he lunged at Anakin with fury, reigniting their intense duel.

As the kiffar Jedi kept coming at him, Anakin could notice the man limping slightly, due to a lightsaber wound on his leg. Though because of his current usage of the Dark Side, the injury did not seem to slow Quinlan down almost at all. Blocking the incoming attacks, Anakin started to see no way out of this situation, other than forcing himself to killing his Jedi friend. Master Vos was determined to destroy him, especially since he had just given in to the Dark Side.

"Use your emotions, Anakin! Let your anger guide you!" Palpatine encouraged, standing near his desk, and watching on as his protégé and Master Vos continued to fight.

Anakin tried his best to not give in to the Sith Lord's desire, even though he saw no other way out of this. His mind was centered around Ahsoka, and how she'd hate him for going this far to protect her. His love for her had driven him on a path, from which there was no return for him. Not wanting to accept it, the young man kept on protecting himself from Quinlan's attacks.

After a short moment, the kiffar man suddenly struck Anakin's lightsaber away, before performing a quick jab at him. The Jedi Master's green lightsaber blade graced the human's left arm, making him groan in pain. Anakin was then able to push Quinlan back, before taking a quick look at his wound. The burning pain he felt fueled the young man's emotions, making him angry, even if it was against his intentions.

Quinlan then came at him again, growling in anger, as he tried to perform a wide slash against Anakin, intending on decapitating him, which was a maneuver called _sai cha_. His anger amplifying his senses, the young human was able to duck under Master Vos' finishing move, leaving the kiffar man's lower half vulnerable.

Driven by his emotions and pure instinct, Anakin clenched his teeth together, and swung his lightsaber quickly, before impaling Quinlan through his stomach. The kiffar Jedi Master gasped loudly, as the human man's lightsaber blade went through him. His eyes widening in shock, Anakin realized what he had done, staring at Master Vos with a terrified expression.

Quickly pulling his blade out of the kiffar Jedi, Anakin took a step back, allowing Quinlan to look at him as well. The Jedi Master glared at him, breathing heavily for a few times, his eyes returning to their normal brownish color again. Dropping his lightsaber, the kiffar man continued to stare at his fallen colleague for a few seconds.

"There is no death... only.. the..." Quinlan whispered weakly to himself, before his eyes rolled back, and he fell back, collapsing on the floor. Anakin looked in horror, as the kiffar Jedi Master let out his last breath, dying on the cold Chancellor's office floor.

The young human man let out a desperate moan, dropping his lightsaber on the floor. Tears began to roll down his cheeks, his heart pounding in his chest. Falling on his knees, Anakin started to cry.

"What have I done!?" He exclaimed in tears, his voice and entire body shaking. He stared at the body of the fallen Master Vos, his tears falling on the floor.

As the human Jedi Master wept quietly, horrified by his actions, Chancellor Palpatine, in reality the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, slowly approached him, donning a hood over his head, shrouding his face slightly. The elder man's glowing eyes made an eerie sight, as he walked over to Anakin, using the Force to levitate Master Vos' body to the side.

"You're fulfilling your destiny, Anakin.." The Sith Lord explained, his voice unnaturally low, and slightly mechanical sounding.

The aura of the Dark Side had filled the entirety of the office area, and all of them could feel it. As Sidious stood over the kneeling Anakin, Bulq and Barriss slowly walked into the office, having recovered from their duel with the Jedi Master. The two Dark Jedi glanced at each other, surprised at what they were seeing. As the young man kept sobbing, the Sith Lord near him took a deep breath.

"Do not despair, Anakin... this is a new beginning for you. Come to be my apprentice... learn to use the Dark Side of the Force, and fulfill your destiny. Only then can you save Ahsoka's life..." Darth Sidious assured, to which the weeping human man looked up at him, looking more desperate than ever before.

"I.. I have nothing left... I only have her now. I'll do whatever you command me to do... I just want to be with Ahsoka.. I can't live without her!" Anakin remarked quietly, his cheeks wet from his tears.

He had no options anymore, he had to give in to the Sith. There was no coming back from what he had done, there was no redemption. He had betrayed the Jedi, in his desire to save the love of his life. No matter what he'd do, the Jedi would never accept him back, and would likely attack him on sight. And if he defied the Sith now, he'd more than likely end up dead as well.

"Only my master was powerful enough to save the ones he loved from death. But.. I'm sure that the two of us will find a way to learn his secrets, and save the life of your lover.." Sidious replied, looking down at the young man, who bit his lip, slowly bowing his head to him. Anakin was at the end of the road; and had no way out. He had to do this.

"I will commit myself to your teachings... I will do anything to save Ahsoka.. I have nothing else left.." He assured, giving himself to the Sith. Sidious smiled widely, having waited for this moment for years upon years.

"Good... goooood.." The Sith Lord answered in a low, devilish tone. The elder human man then moved his hand over Anakin's head, inhaling deeply and closing his eyes.

"The Force is strong in you... let it set you free, at long last.. let the shackles that the Jedi bound you with be finally broken." He stated, initiating the young human man to the Sith Order. Anakin closed his eyes, a final tear rolling down his cheek, and falling on the floor, as he kept his head bowed down.

"I will..." The young man answered, even though he felt intense doubt in his heart. Darth Sidious inhaled deeply again, taking in every satisfying moment of this occasion. Barriss and Bulq glanced at each other again a few meters away, the mirialan folding her arms, feeling increasingly suspicious.

"You will make a powerful and ferocious Sith. Your raw strength will be unmatched. You will be a true Dark Lord of the Sith, and go down in history as one of the strongest! Anakin Skywalker.. henceforth, you shall be known as.. Darth... Vader..." The Sith Lord announced, bestowing Anakin with his new Sith identity.

After hearing that, Barriss' eyes widened, and she took a step forward, not able to believe her ears. Despite all her efforts, everything she had done, Anakin was proclaimed a Sith Lord immediately, without any tests or services to Darth Sidious?

"What!?" She asked in outrage, though she was quickly stopped by Bulq, who grabbed her by the shoulder. As the mirialan glanced back, she could see her weequay rival shake his head warningly at her, signaling her to keep quiet. Biting her lip, Barriss begrudgingly shut her mouth, and returned to stand silently next to Bulq.

"Thank you... my master.." Anakin said quietly, accepting his new identity, although with overwhelming doubts. His new Sith Master smiled, motioning him to stand.

"Rise, Lord Vader." Sidious said in a menacing, yet content tone. The newly proclaimed Sith Lord Darth Vader did as asked, slowly standing up. His face was still wet and red from his earlier crying, as he looked at his master. Sidious then placed his hands on the young Sith Lord's shoulders, smiling some more.

"We will achieve greatness together, my apprentice..." He assured, before gently turning Vader around, towards the two Dark Jedi, who stood nearby, silently waiting. Sidious looked over his apprentice's shoulder, smirking at the two.

"Acolytes! Kneel down before the new Dark Lord of the Sith!" The elder human man announced louder, ordering the two underlings to submit to Vader's command.

The two Dark Acolytes stared at the Lords of the Sith for a moment, before Bulq placed his hand on Barriss' shoulder again, and pushed her down, as he knelt down as well. The experienced weequay man bowed his head respectfully.

"Dark Lord.." He proclaimed, recognizing Vader's legitimacy. Barriss looked at the man who was formerly her Jedi friend, and later arch nemesis Anakin Skywalker, her eyes filled with hatred. Knowing that she'd be no match to the new Dark Lord, she gave in, and bowed her head as well.

"My Lord..." She said quietly, giving respect to Vader, although begrudgingly. The young human Sith Lord breathed heavily for a moment, coming to terms with the situation. He then sighed long, before turning back to his master.

"What will we do next?" He asked, to which the elder Sith Lord quickly turned around, and began to head towards the Chancellor's desk.

"We must move quickly! The Jedi will soon find out what happened here, and will move in to destroy us, along with the Senate.." Lord Sidious explained, as he walked up the small set of stairs, that led to the desk. Darth Vader slowly followed his master, as Bulq and Barriss stood us as well, and started to follow him.

"I agree, my Lord. The Jedi will try to take over the Senate, when they hear about this.." Bulq remarked, as he walked next to Vader, who approached the desk, at which his Sith Master then sat down on his Chancellor's chair.

"We cannot let them retaliate. You three must go to the Jedi Temple, and seize control of it. Do what must be done; do not hesitate.. and show no mercy! The Jedi will show us no mercy either, after what happened here.." Darth Sidious explained, as he sat down, and leaned back on his seat.

His new apprentice bit his lip, looking unsure about the plan. He felt uncertain if he could bring himself to striking down more of his former Jedi friends. The elder human Sith could see his doubtful expression.

"Lord Vader.. you must secure the _Jedi Archives_ in the Temple. Inside them our enemies have held some of secrets of the Sith for millennia. We must reclaim that lost knowledge... it will help us in our quest to save Ahsoka.." The Sith Master explained, to which Lord Vader's eyes widened, as he could only think about his lost lover. Sighing, he nodded, agreeing with the plan.

"I understand, master. But what about all the Jedi spread across the Galaxy, still leading clone armies..?" He asked cautiously, feeling slight worry about the fact that there were still hundreds of Jedi all across the Galaxy. Lord Sidious hummed quietly, leaning forward slightly.

"They will be dealt with, don't worry about that, Lord Vader. Every single Jedi.. including your friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic. They will be punished for the crimes they've committed, and the treacheries they've schemed against the Senate for years..." The Sith Lord explained, his voice menacingly determined. Vader bit his lip again, his heart beating faster, as he thought about his old friend, Obi-Wan.

"We will leave immediately, my Lord. The Jedi Temple will be ours before the morning dawns.." Bulq then said assuredly, seemingly content with serving under the new Dark Lord, despite Sidious' promises to him, that he'd have a chance to become a Sith himself. Barriss on the other hand, was not as content, having her arms folded, as she stood next to Vader. Darth Sidious smiled, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Good.. a new beginning for us will dawn with the morning. Once more the Sith shall rule the Galaxy! And.. we shall have... peace.." The elder human Sith Lord stated, taking in the deep satisfaction of the fact that the millennia old dream of the Sith Order was finally becoming reality.

After that, Bulq and Barriss both quickly bowed to the Sith Lord, before turning around, and walking towards the exist. Darth Vader sighed quickly, before bowing to his master as well, and following the two Dark Acolytes out. He was uncertain about everything, but was ready to do whatever was necessary to help secure a better future for himself, and Ahsoka. As he joined in with the two Acolytes, Sora Bulq turned to glance at him.

"Lord Vader. I suggest that you gather the 501st Legion, and march to the Jedi Temple on foot, moving in from the main entrance. Barriss and I will round up the Coruscant Guard, and invade the Temple from the air.." The weequay man explained, to which the newly proclaimed Dark Lord silently nodded his head.

"Understood..." He answered quietly, not wanting to think about anything other than his togruta lover. He knew what he'd need to do in the following hours, and it terrified him, fueling his fall to the Dark Side.

No matter his doubts, he'd need to follow the path of his new allegiances. He'd need to forget about the Jedi, if he wanted to have any chance at surviving all of this. Despite his fears, Anakin Skywalker was no more, and would soon be consumed by Darth Vader. The young man had to tell himself, that he'd be doing it all to save Ahsoka, who he loved more than anything in his life. Nothing mattered to him anymore, other than her.

After the three Dark Side users had left, Lord Sidious hummed quietly to himself, smiling again. He took a deep breath, before leaning forward on his chair, and reaching over to a small console on his desk. He pressed a few buttons, before bringing up a hologram, which projected the leading officer of the Coruscant Guard; _CC-1010_.

"Chancellor Palpatine, sir!" The clone officer said, saluting the Sith Lord, whose smile faded slowly.

" _Commander Fox_... relay the following message to every single clone trooper in the Grand Army; Execute Order 66..." The elder human man, using his alter ego of Chancellor Palpatine ordered. Commander Fox was quiet for a moment, just staring at the Sith Lord, before slowly nodding in understanding.

"Right away, my Lord.." The clone commander replied in a serious tone, before his hologram abruptly disappeared.

After that, Lord Sidious leaned back on his chair, letting out a relieved sigh. He had waited for this moment for so many years. The fact that it was finally happening seemed almost surreal to him. However, as he had planned for this to happen for decades, the man could only smile, and be proud of his achievements.

He had succeeded in converting Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side, and soon he'd be able to watch the downfall of the Jedi Order go down right in front of his eyes. There wasn't a sweeter victory a Sith could achieve. After thousands of years, they'd finally be in control of the Galaxy, and their mortal enemies would lie in ruin, soon to be exterminated forever. Dark days were ahead of the Republic, and the entire Galaxy; the Sith Order at long last were about to achieve their ultimate victory over the Jedi...


	18. Chapter 17: Knightfall

**Chapter 17: Knightfall**

The engines of an LAAT/i gunship sprung to life, lifting the ship up in the air after a few seconds. The gunship flew up to the sky, leaving a large landing pad on the capital sinkhole city of the planet Utapau behind it. Above the sinkholes in the skies of the planet, several Venator-class star destroyers calmly floated in the air, positioned above the cities in a strategic way.

Hundreds of clone troopers of the 212th Attack Battalion were gathered on the numerous landing pads all around the sinkhole city, as the battle on the planet had come to an end, and the Republic forces were prepared to leave. Dozens of LAAT/i gunships landed on the landing pads, taking in batches of clone troopers, and taking them back to the carrier ships, in order to get the Republic military forces off of Utapau.

Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi walked along one of the landing pads, which had been converted into a makeshift Republic forward operations base. He approached a holographic strategic display table, seeing several clones, as well as his fellow Jedi Master Saesee Tiin gathered around it. The clone commanding officer of the 212th, Cody, leaned over the table, displaying holograms of the Republic's forces.

"At the rate of our current withdrawal protocols, the entirety of the 212th Attack Battalion should be off Utapau by the end of this planetary cycle." Cody explained, showing some holographic algorithms to the iktotchi Jedi Master, and the other clones gathered around the table. As Obi-Wan joined the group, the clone troopers saluted him.

"General Kenobi." One of the clones, nicknamed _Boil_ greeted, saluting the human Jedi, who smiled, and lifted his hand up slightly.

"At ease, men. How are we doing, Cody?" Obi-Wan asked, leaning on the table as well, standing next to his Jedi colleague, Master Tiin. The clone commander sharply stood straight for a moment, his attitude professional as always.

"We are perfectly on schedule, sir." Cody assured, which brought another smile on his Jedi commanding officer's face. The bearded Jedi Master was relieved that the battle was over, as he was looking forward to returning to Coruscant, and reuniting with his dear friend Anakin.

"It is almost over. We can leave the people of Utapau to rebuild their homes... they have seen enough war and destruction." Master Tiin remarked, his arms folded, though his tone calm and relived. Obi-Wan shared the iktotchi man's feelings, nodding in agreement.

"As have we, master.." He stated, wishing to himself that his and his fellow Jedi's days of leading troops into bloody battles would soon be over. Obi-Wan was a good fighter, and an exceptional military leader, but he had always preferred the life of a peacemaker, over that of a soldier. It was the Jedi way, and he'd always prefer that life over this.

After a few short moments, the clones seemed to become distracted slightly. They all reached to their helmets' built-in transmitters, apparently reaching a signal. Obi-Wan and Master Tiin glanced at each other, as Commander Cody looked into what was going on.

"Generals.. there seems to be a transmission from Coruscant, being broadcasted across the entire Grand Army network.." The clone officer announced, seeming to be a bit confused, as were his comrades, who all glanced at one another. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows, folding his arms.

"Put it on the projector. Let's see what this is about.." The human Jedi Master said, to which the clone commander did as ordered, and pressed a few buttons on the holographic display table, bringing up a large hologram of a figure shrouded in a dark hood.

Obi-Wan frowned slightly, as he took a closer look at the person, recognizing it being Chancellor Palpatine, though his face was mostly shrouded in the hood, his eyes glowing in a suspicious way.

"Execute Order 66..." The hologram of Palpatine stated simply, in a menacing tone, before his figure disappeared abruptly. Stroking his beard, Obi-Wan hummed quietly, not having any idea what the message meant.

Right after the hologram of Chancellor Palpatine disappeared, all of the clones around the table glanced at each other, before slowly turning their gazes to Obi-Wan and Master Tiin. The two Jedi Masters raised their eyebrows, suspiciously staring at the clones, who said nothing. Obi-Wan felt increasingly suspicious, slowly taking a step backwards. Something was definitely going on, and he had a bad feeling about it.

Out of the blue, the clone troopers reached for their weapons, causing the Jedi Masters' eyes widen, as they took a step back in shock.

"Obi-Wan, run!" Saesee Tiin shouted, quickly using the Force to push several clones, Cody and Boil included away from the hologram projecting table. The clones fell on their backs, grunting as the Force attack hit their armors.

Obi-Wan gasped loudly, as he was more than shocked to see his loyal clone troopers brandish their weapons at him. A clone corporal right next to him grabbed his blaster carbine, and aimed it at the Jedi Master. Without a second thought, Obi-Wan took out his lightsaber, and activated it, instinctively cutting the clone's weapon barrel in half. He then followed Master Tiin's example, and pushed the corporal, as well as two other clone troopers away with the Force.

As he looked around, Obi-Wan could see all of the clones in the near vicinity make their way towards him and Master Tiin, their weapons at the ready. The human Jedi Master deflected several blaster bolts, that the approaching clone shot at him, while simultaneously sidestepping his way towards the edge of the landing pad.

Master Tiin followed his human colleague, though he quickly had to stop on his tracks, as more and more clones opened fire upon him. The iktotchi Jedi had to focus entirely on deflecting and blocking incoming blaster bolts from the clones, many of them deflecting back at the soldiers who shot them, either wounding them or outright killing them, as the shots flew back.

Obi-Wan now ran towards the edge of the landing pad, not seeing any other way to escape the clone betrayal. He stopped right near the edge, turning back around, and waiting for Master Tiin, whom he could notice being bogged down in a desperate attempt to keep the aggressive clones back. A few troopers focused on Obi-Wan, forcing him to stay still and deflect as many blaster shots as he could, unable to help his fellow Jedi Council member.

"Obi-Wan, run! Get out of here! I'll hold them off!" Master Tiin shouted, continuing to deflect the incoming fire directed at him. At that moment, a blaster bolt managed to hit the iktotchi Jedi's left leg, making him grunt in pain, and stagger slightly.

Obi-Wan's heart pounded in his chest, as he could do nothing to help his friend. To his horror, he could notice Commander Cody, and the other clones behind Master Tiin, quickly get up from the ground, and grab their weapons.

"Master Tiin!" He yelled, getting the iktotchi's attention. Tiin was too slow to react, however, as the clones behind him opened fire, several shots hitting him in the back. The human Jedi's eyes widened again, as his heart skipped a beat.

"No!" He shouted, as Master Tiin desperately attempted to turn around, and deflect the shots that were coming at him from behind.

Before the iktotchi Jedi could even turn completely, he was hit several times from both sides, injuring him even more. Obi-Wan could only watch in horror, as Master Tiin was shot full of smoking holes, dying in the merciless crossfire between the squadrons of clones. The iktotchi man collapsed dead on the floor, his green bladed lightsaber falling out of his hands.

The human man had no time to grieve, as the clone troopers quickly turned their attention towards him. Over a dozen clones, including his close friend and subordinate Cody, aggressively opened fire at Obi-Wan, trying ruthlessly to gun him down, just as they had done to Master Saesee Tiin.

Deflecting a shot after a shot, Obi-Wan saw no way out of this situation. After a few seconds, he was hit in his right leg by a well placed shot from one of the clones. Hissing in pain, Obi-Wan forced himself to continue deflecting more and more blaster bolts, many of them managing to hit the clones back. His efforts were in vain, however, as soon another shot broke through his defenses, and graced the human Jedi's side. Before he could react further, Commander Cody shot an expertly placed shot at him, which hit Obi-Wan's left shoulder, burning through his tunic, and damaging his skin.

The force behind the shot made the human Jedi Master stagger, and lose his footing. Before the clones could shoot him full of holes, like they had done with Master Tiin, Obi-Wan staggered over the edge, and fell back, plunging into the hundreds of meters deep sinkhole.

As the Jedi Master fell down the sinkhole, towards the large lakes that lay at the bottom, several clone troopers ran to the edge, and aimed their weapons down, continuing to fire upon the falling Obi-Wan, attempting to hit him again. Commander Cody made his way to the troopers quickly, waving his hands.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" The clone officer shouted, ordering his men to stop firing. The troopers did as ordered, stepping away from the edge, and letting Cody to take a look down. Not seeing Obi-Wan anymore, the clone commander let out a slight grunt.

"Send a patrol down to the sinkholes.. we need to make sure that Kenobi is dead." Cody then ordered, to which Boil, who was one of the clones who had shot after Obi-Wan, quickly spoke up.

"Sir, there's no way he could survive that fall. We should keep moving, and leave the planet.." The clone trooper suggested, to which his commanding officer sighed quickly, nodding.

"Agreed. Send recon droids down there; they'll find out whether he died or not. Now, business as usual, people! We still need to clear off this piece of rock!" Cody shouted, ordering his men around, who all answered with acknowledgment, and quickly regained their composure, and resumed their earlier duties, as well as calling corpsmen to clear out the dead and wounded.

As Cody walked back towards the hologram table, he took a quick glance at the dead iktotchi Jedi Master, whom he and his men had just killed. Frowning deeply, the clone fought the urge to kick the Jedi's body, feeling enraged about receiving Order 66. The order instructed clones to use lethal force upon their Jedi commanders, in the event that the Jedi Order was declared traitors to the Republic.

Strangely, Cody had not even thought about the entire ordeal after receiving the order, until now. It was as if he instinctively had reached for his weapon, and shot Master Tiin down, without even thinking about it. Still, he knew that Order 66 would not be given, unless the Jedi were truly behind something treasonous. And that was enough for the experienced clone commander to justify his actions, and he was sure that all of his comrades felt the same, no matter how close they had been to General Kenobi, or any other Jedi officer.

In the following moments, the clones of the 212th Attack Battalion resumed their operations, making ready to leave Utapau behind them. The Jedi Order might have been declared enemies of the Republic, but that didn't give any excuse for the clones to be distracted from their other duties. They were all loyal to the Republic, and would remain so until the end of their days.

 **...**

The main entrance to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant was quite massive, with a lengthy and wide staircase leading up to the entranceway into the Temple. Bronzium statues of ancient legendary Jedi Masters and Knights decorated the top of the staircase, having been built during the thousands of years that the Temple had existed.

Along the staircase walked a long column of over a thousand clone troopers, marching towards the main entrance. The entirety of the 501st clone legion made their way towards the Jedi Temple's entryway, following the darkly clothed former Jedi Master, Anakin Skywalker, who was now the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. The human Sith Lord silently walked up the stairs, the now tried up trails left by his earlier weeping still visible on his cheeks.

Right behind Vader, at the front of the huge clone column, walked the leading officers of the 501st Legion: Commander Appo and Captain Rex. The clone commander of the legion had armed himself to the teeth, utilizing the WESTAR-M5 blaster rifle, loaded up with heavy hitting tibanna gas, that was sure to make short work of any organics, namely Jedi. Captain Rex had equipped himself with his regular armor, wielding a DC-15S blaster carbine, as well as having his trusty DC-17 blaster pistols holstered on his belt.

The 501st had received Order 66 earlier in the hour, and had quickly prepared for the assault on the Jedi Temple, as their former Jedi General turned Sith Lord had contacted them about it. They all knew their mission, and what was at stake. The Jedi were deemed enemies of the Republic, dangerous and impending on moving against the Senate. The Jedi Temple would have to be conquered in quick fashion, to remove any threat of the treacherous Jedi rising up in revolt, and causing a bloody civil war upon the Galaxy.

As he got to the top of the staircase, Lord Vader took slow steps towards the main entrance, seeing the light coming from inside the Temple. Night had already fallen upon this region on Coruscant, making the sky dark, and the millions of stars out in space visible.

Approaching the entrance, walking between the massive pillars that depicted various Jedi in artistic murals, Vader could then notice three figures nearby. He knew that there weren't many guards placed outside of the Temple during nighttime, as the Jedi rarely faced any trouble, let alone an invasion of their home. Biting his lip, the human man could tell that the three Jedi guarding the entrance could see the massive clone legion approaching the Temple.

As they got closer, the three Jedi, who Lord Vader could recognize being Master _Jurokk_ , as well as two Jedi Temple Guards, walked up to him, the bald human Jedi Master having a worried look on his face. Vader stopped in front of Jurokk, who raised his eyebrows, looking past the former Jedi Master at the massive clone army approaching them.

"Anakin? What is going on? Master Secura could feel a great disturbance in the Force earlier. Where's Master Windu..?" Jurokk asked in a worrisome tone, sweat forming on his forehead.

Vader bit his lip again, staring at his former Jedi colleague, who no doubt still believed him to be Anakin Skywalker, and a loyal member of the Jedi Order. Sighing quietly, he took a step towards his unaware colleague.

"Chancellor Palpatine has tasked me to gain access to the Jedi Archives. Step aside, Jurokk, we need to place the Temple in lockdown for now.." He explained to the Jedi Master, who served as the _Gate Keeper_ for the Temple's main entrance during the nightly hours. Jurokk frowned, glancing at the 501st behind Vader again.

"Lockdown? What is going on, Anakin? Tell me.." The human man demanded, though still remaining calm. Vader clenched his teeth together, squeezing his hands. He did not wish to kill his Jedi colleagues, even though he knew that it was inevitable at this point. Sensing the young man's conflict, Jurokk frowned deeper, and took a step back, reaching for his lightsaber.

"Anakin.. where is Master Windu?" He asked again, his voice now cautious and a bit suspicious. Darth Vader sighed again, staring at the human Jedi Master, who seemed to slowly figure out, what was going on.

Before the Sith Lord could do anything further, Jurokk's eyes widened, and he grabbed his lightsaber hilt. The human Jedi had figured out Vader's true intentions, and was not going to let it happen. Activating his lightsaber, Jurokk quickly attempted to attack the Sith Lord, striking at him.

Vader athletically bent down his back, avoiding the strike. He then grabbed the Jedi's arm with his robotic right hand, using its amplified power to twist Jurokk's arm, and causing him to drop his lightsaber. The Sith Lord then quickly grabbed his lightsaber with his left hand, and activated it, before driving the blade through the Jedi's abdomen. After impaling Jurokk, the two Temple Guards sprung to action, taking out their double-bladed lightsaber pikes.

Several clones ran up from behind Darth Vader, Commander Appo included, and quickly opened fire on the Jedi guardsmen. The Guards managed to hold their ground for a few seconds, deflecting the incoming blaster bolts back at the clones, injuring and killing a few of them. However, the two Temple Guards were gunned down in a matter of seconds, succumbing to overwhelming blaster fire.

After the Guards fell on the floor dead, Vader pulled his blue bladed lightsaber out of Master Jurokk's stomach, allowing him to fall on the ground as well, mortally injured. The clones of the 501st Legion then begun to approach the Jedi Temple's entrance with faster steps, moving past Lord Vader.

Commander Appo stopped next to his commanding Sith officer, quickly looking down at the downed Jedi, who gasped for air, slowly dying. The clone commander simply aimed his rifle at the dying Jedi, and finished him, shooting Jurokk full of smoking holes. After killing the Jedi Master, Appo looked at Darth Vader again.

"The 501st is ready to enter the Jedi Temple, Lord Vader. What are your orders?" The emotionless clone asked, standing over the smoking corpse of Master Jurokk. Vader's eyes widened, as he was still not exactly used to his new identity, nor was he confident with going along the Sith plan of exterminating the Jedi. He bit his lip, before taking in a short breath.

"Move in and secure the Temple. I want every inch under Republic control. If you come across any surrendering Jedi... just.. detain them..." The Sith Lord answered quietly, to which his clone subordinate leaned his head to the side slightly.

"Lord Vader.. Order 66 instructs us to use lethal force on the Jedi.." Appo explained, seemingly a bit confused at Vader's orders. The young Sith Lord bit his lip yet again, before sighing deeply, and nodding.

"Do... do as you will then, Commander. Now move out.." He stated, looking down at the ground. The clone officer quickly saluted the Sith Lord, and nodded, before starting to make his way into the Jedi Temple, being accompanied by the hundreds of clones of the 501st, who were all invading the Temple in quick fashion.

Vader stayed standing still for a few moments, as the dozens upon dozens of clone troopers marched past him, entering the Jedi Temple. His heart was pounding, his mind filled with all kinds of thoughts, doubt, regret, fear and anxiety. The young man would need to go to extreme lengths, in order to save the ones he loved from dying, and that was distressing him. None of this what he wanted, but he saw no other possible way out of the situation.

As he silently stood by, looking around, he could notice his old clone friend, and loyal subordinate Captain Rex walking past him. The clone veteran quickly glanced at the Sith Lord, giving him an acknowledging, as well as slightly encouraging nod. Vader bit his lip again, finding himself unable to respond to the clone captain in any way, after which Rex simply turned around, and headed inside the Temple.

Vader could only wonder what all the different clones around the Galaxy were feeling about the execution of Order 66. The newly inducted Sith Lord himself had been quite shocked to learn about the existence of this order, which instructed clones to kill their Jedi comrades. He could finally start to understand just how deep Darth Sidious' schemes ran inside the Republic, and how they directed the course of which the Galaxy had been taking for the past several years. Vader felt awe, as well as fear for his new Sith Master. The sheer magnitude of Darth Sidious' successful schemes had shown him, that his Sith Master was far beyond the powers of the Jedi, and that his only change at saving Ahsoka, would be through the Sith Lord, and his former master's teachings.

Taking a deep breath, Lord Vader gathered up his focus and resolve. The human Sith Lord then began to march into the Jedi Temple, along the massive 501st Legion, who were geared up for brutal and bloody conflict with their former Jedi comrades. As they walked into the Temple, Vader could hear the sounds of vehicles flying above. Over two dozen LAAT/i gunships, as well as _police gunships_ used by the Coruscant Guard, flew above the Jedi Temple and its premises, preparing to invade the building from the sky.

As he walked into the Temple, Vader had to keep his mind set on his goal. His mission was to secure the Jedi Archives undamaged, so that he and his Sith Master could discover what the Jedi had kept in them, including the recovered Sith secrets and teachings of old.

Although he felt fear and uncertainty about having to face his former friends, people he had grown up with, the young human Sith Lord had to try his hardest not to think about it, and simply go through with his mission. He knew that he was doing all of this for the woman he loved more than anything, and no matter how monstrous and horrible the things he'd need to do were, Vader was determined to stop at nothing in order to save Ahsoka. However selfish it was of him, the young human knew that he could not go on, if he were to lose his precious lover.

 **...**

Muffled sounds of laser cannon fire, as well as explosions, woke up the young human Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam from a restless sleep. The Hapan Battle Dragon she was on then shook slightly, making the young girl nearly fall off the small and uncomfortable bed she was lying on, inside the jail cell she had been locked in earlier. She sat up, looking around, listening in on the sounds of the battle raging outside. She could tell that the Republic had arrived on Onderon.

As another explosion shook the ship around more, Kriza could only bite her lip, and look around the small jail cell. She knew that she was all alone in the Battle Dragon's brig area, having been left there by the Queen Mother's guards. The young Padawan had no idea what was going to happen to her in the near future. She did not wish the Hapan fleet to win the space battle over Onderon, yet she also did not wish to meet her end inside the cramped jail cell, if the Republic were to win instead. Although she was committed to the Jedi teachings, and was ready to give her life for a higher purpose, the young woman still did not look forward to death.

Kriza sighed quietly to herself, thinking about all the things that had happened in the recent past. Losing her master Agen Kolar, being captured and nearly tortured by the Hapan forces, as well as seeing firsthand the atrocities Ta'a Chume had committed, had really gotten to the young woman. Because of her training, she was able to keep her emotions back for the most part, but thinking about everything for the first time since they happened, made Kriza tear up, and break down.

Sobbing quite heavily for the first time in years, the young girl buried her face in her hands. She knew that these could be her last moments, and thus she allowed herself to let all of her emotions out, even if it wasn't the Jedi way. She missed her master, she missed her friends in the Jedi Order, and she missed her freedom. Despite knowing that sacrifice was every Jedi's potential fate, Kriza was not sure if she was ready for it just yet, which only increased her distress.

After a moment, the young human woman could suddenly hear echoing footsteps along the brig's hallway. Not too many seconds later, two hapan men arrived to the ray shield protected doorway to the cell. The armed guards stared at the tearful human Jedi for a few moments, before suddenly activating the console on the wall, deactivating the ray shield. Kriza looked up, her cheeks wet from her tears, as she could only guess what the intimidating looking guards would do with her. Waiting for the worst, she was surprised to see the two hapans step aside from the doorway.

"Our gracious Queen Mother has ordered you to be released immediately, and escorted to an escape pod.." One of the men explained sternly, not looking exactly thrilled about it, but knew better not to go against his liege. Kriza wiped the tears off her face, not sure if she could believe her ears.

"R-released..? Why..?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly. The guards frowned at her, the man who was talking to her scoffing in frustration.

"I'm the wrong person to ask that. Frankly, if I had a say in it, you'd be executed immediately for daring to harm our Queen. But.. she has given us a direct order, and we'll follow that. Now get a move on!" The hapan man said louder, motioning Kriza to get up, and step out of the jail cell.

The human Jedi raised her eyebrows, regaining her composure. She then swallowed audibly, before slowly standing up, and walking up to the two hapans, stepping out of her cell. Kriza felt confused: she didn't know why exactly Ta'a Chume had ordered her release. She could only figure that the Queen Mother had grown fond of her, and wanted to give her a chance to escape death, if the day's battle would turn out a defeat for the Hapans.

As she got to the hapan guards, the men simply grunted at her, motioning her to walk along the hallway. Kriza bit her lip, rubbing her arm slightly, as she started to make her way out of the brig, walking between the two hapan men.

"Where.. is my lightsaber..?" The young woman asked carefully, wondering if she'd be given back her precious custom built lightsaber. It was the duty of a Jedi to always keep their weapon close, as it was their 'life', as some Jedi Masters would say. The Hapan guard simply scoffed again, shaking his head.

"The Queen Mother has spared your life... I don't think you get to demand anything else, girl. Now keep moving!" The guard replied sharply, shoving Kriza forward. The young Jedi Padawan rubbed her shoulder slightly, sighing quietly as she kept moving out of the hallway.

As the trio exited the warship's brig, they entered another long hallway, which would lead to a nearby escape pod room. The Song of War possessed several sections all over it, containing escape pods to ensure the crew having the chance to escape to safety, would the ship meet its demise.

Walking along the long elegantly built hallway, the Battle Dragon shook again, as another explosion nearby sent its shockwave at the Hapan cruiser. Kriza and the guards staggered slightly, as the ship shook around. The young Jedi looked around nervously, feeling as if she was being taken for execution, even though she knew that she was being given a chance to escape. She still couldn't understand why Ta'a Chume would show this kind of mercy for her, and that really made her see the Queen Mother in a slightly different light.

In the following moments, the guards continued to lead Kriza towards the escape pod area, while the battle raged outside in the vacuum of space. The Republic and Hapan forces were in the middle of a fierce fight to the death, with both sides knowing that one way or another, only the other winner of the battle would survive, and the loser would be utterly decimated.

 **...**

Flocks of birds had their peaceful flight disturbed, as a Delta-7B Aethersprite-class starfighter, and over a dozen ARC-170 heavy starfighters flew right past them, causing the birds to disperse, and fly off to different directions from each other. The squadron of Republic starfighters flew down, towards several bridged cities built between massive mountains, on the planet of Cato Neimoidia.

The forces of the 104th Battalion led by the kel dor Jedi Master Plo Koon, had arrived to the neimoidian "purse world" only recently, after having recaptured Taris from the Separatists, with the help of the 501st Legion. Even though the Separatist Council had been assassinated, and the Confederate leadership lied in ruins, a formidable droid force still occupied Cato Neimoidia: stubborn neimoidian Separatist commanders refusing to surrender to the Republic. Master Koon and his elite force of clones had arrived to bring the world back into Republic hands once and for all, after years of sporadic fighting in an out of the planet's atmosphere.

Inside the cockpit of the leading ARC-170 fighter, flying behind the kel dor Jedi Master's customized Delta-7B interceptor craft, named _Blade of Dorin_ , was a clone captain pilot nicknamed _Warthog_. The veteran pilot had flown alongside his kel dor Jedi officer throughout the Clone Wars, having come to admire the Jedi Master's spectacular skills as a starfighter pilot. Alongside Warthog, clone captain _CT-55/11-9009_ , nicknamed _Jai'galaar_ , or simply _Jag_ , commanded the squadrons of clone starfighters that served under Master Koon's battle fleet.

Flying past one of the large bridged cities built between the mountains, Warthog skillfully stayed behind his kel dor commanding Jedi officer trail, dodging the tall buildings of the hanging city. After a moment, his ship's intercom system sprung to life, catching his attention.

"We'll skirt around for another pass. Let's see if the droids will send fighters after us.." Plo Koon's low voice came through the radio, to which the clone pilot nodded his head, holding the ship's controls tighter.

"You got it, General." Warthog acknowledged, having gotten used to Master Koon's flying and the style in which he perpetrated his missions. The clone then relayed the order to all of the other fighters in the squadron, as well as signaled the gunner sitting behind him to arm the ARC-170's primary cannons.

As the squadron continued to fly through the bridged cities' skylines, Warthog's ARC-170 suddenly received a notification of an incoming transmission. The clone veteran raised his eyebrows, noticing that the transmission was being broadcasted through a secure, yet open channel.

Warthog opened up the transmission, knowing that every other pilot in his squadron would do the same. Next, the holographic figure of a hooded Chancellor Palpatine appeared on the small projector, that was placed on the ship's dashboard.

"Execute Order 66.." The Chancellor's hologram said in a menacing tone, before abruptly disappearing. Warthog's eyes widened, as he then simply moved his gaze at Plo Koon's starfighter, flying up front. Swallowing audibly, the clone slowly nodded, as if being in a trance.

"It will be done..." He muttered quietly, before moving his fingers on the ship's weapon triggers.

The powerful blaster cannons mounted under the ARC-170's wings opened fire upon Plo Koon's starfighter, striking the Blade of Dorin's right engine, engulfing it in flames, as the booster exploded. The Delta-7B interceptor swerved to the right, Master Koon trying in vain to avoid the incoming cannon rounds. With two more hits, the back end of the kel dor Jedi Master's starfighter exploded, engulfing the ship in flames, as it began to roll out of control.

As the ARC-170 squadron steered themselves away from Master Koon's ship, flying up to the sky again, the Blade of Dorin dived towards several buildings in the bridge city, its left side colliding with a large communications antenna. With another explosion, the Delta-7B interceptor spun around, hundreds of pieces flying all over the place. Sealing Plo Koon's unfortunate fate, the Blade of Dorin crashed into a building, being destroyed in a massive explosion.

Order 66 had claimed another victim, with only more and more to follow. Master Plo Koon was one of the Order's wisest, and most powerful Jedi Masters. The kel dor man had lived a life full of conflict, yet it had never steered him astray from his principles. He stayed a faithful and principled Jedi to the end, which was something any and all of his colleagues would like to be as well. Despite his towering intellect, calm and collected nature, and excellent awareness, Master Koon, like most other Jedi, could never have predicted his own clone subordinates turning on him out of nowhere.

This was exactly what the Sith had planned all along; allowing the Jedi to grow attached to their clone soldiers, and come to trust them with their lives. It was the perfect deception, as the Jedi were completely unaware of the clones' hidden nature, until it was far too late. With uttering only a single sentence, Darth Sidious had unleashed a set of events, that would more than likely result in the complete destruction of the Jedi Order.

 **...**

Waves washed up the sandy shores of a massive beach, the water crashing on dozens of destroyed wrecks of various Separatist vehicles, including AAT repulsor tanks, _NR-N99 Persuader_ -class droid enforces, as well as hundreds of corpses of different battle droid models, such as B1-series battle droids, B2-series super battle droids, and _DSD1_ dwarf spider droids.

Along the beach were also laying hundreds of bodies of fallen clone troopers of the 41st Elite Corps, and wookiee soldiers. Hundreds of meters away from the beaches inland, were several massive _wroshyr_ trees, the trunks of which the major wookiee city of _Kachirho_ was built in. The entirety of the beaches in front of Kachirho were filled with bodies and wreckage from both sides of the earlier battle, that had raged for hours, ending with the Republic being victorious.

The Separatist forces had arrived on Kashyyyk less than two weeks earlier, yet they already managed to cause havoc across the surface of the forest world, noticeably also utilizing the service of dozens of trandoshan hunters, who harassed and killed many wookiees. Wookiees and trandoshans had been sworn enemies for hundreds of years, which meant that the hunters were more than happy to work for the Separatists, if it gave them the chance to kill some of their arch nemeses.

Jedi Master Luminara Unduli had come to the native wookiees' aid earlier in the week, arriving to Kashyyyk with her 41st Elite Corps, which consisted of some of the best trained clone troopers in the Grand Army. With Master Unduli's leadership, the Republic forces had viciously battled the droids for days, the war on Kashyyyk culminating with the battle along the beaches of Kachirho. Nearing the final battle, Grand Master Yoda had also arrived to the planet, in order to offer his aid to his mirialan colleague. In the end, the Republic had managed to decimate the Separatist forces, albeit suffering heavy casualties as well.

Walking along the beach, sand being pushed down under their boots, a small group of clone troopers approached a nearby clearing, which was packed with dozens of clones and wookiees, all standing around Master Luminara, who had come down to the beaches to observe the aftermath of the battle. The clone leading the small group was Commander _Faie_ , a veteran soldier who had fought in hundreds of battles throughout the Clone Wars, commanding an elite group of clones known as the _Bogey Squad_.

Before landing a position under Luminara Unduli's 41st Elite Corps, Faie had served under the _thisspiasian_ Jedi Master and Council member Oppo Rancisis. After Rancisis' death on the hands of Sora Bulq, Faie and his men had been transferred to the 41st Elite Corps, having fought alongside them for the last several months, as well as taking orders from General Unduli now.

Faie and his men approached the mirialan Jedi Master, who was conversing with a few wookiees. Order 66 had just been broadcasted to every clone across the Galaxy, and each and every one of the soldiers around Master Luminara knew just what they had to do. As the group of clones walked up to the mirialan, she raised her eyebrows slightly, turning her attention towards them. The wookiees around her seemed a bit cautious.

"Faie, did you find anything on your patrol..?" Master Luminara asked, as she and the wookiee warriors stared at the clones, who stopped in front of the Jedi Master. Faie simply raised his weapon, shaking his head.

"No.." The clone commander replied in a monotone voice, before he and his men ruthlessly opened fire upon the mirialan Jedi.

Master Luminara had no time to react, and was savagely gunned down, her elegant black clothes being ripped to shreds by the clones' blaster fire. Falling dead on the ground, yet another powerful Jedi Master had met their end at the hands of their formerly loyal clone companions.

Immediately after witnessing their Jedi savior being brutally killed, the wookiees around Luminara all roared in anger, and proceeded to attack the nearest clones to them in a fit of animalistic rage. A few wookiees managed to brutally bludgeon nearby clone troopers to the ground, who had no time to prepare. Faie and his men took steps back, opening fire on the aggressive hairy natives, who roared and shouted in the wookiee language dialect of _Thykarann_ , warning the other nearby wookiees about the clones' betrayal. The ruthless clone commander managed to kill a few wookiees close to him, shooting the warriors full of blaster bolt holes, while his squadmates provided supporting fire.

A chaotic melee ensued, hundreds of clones and wookiees all attacking each other along the large beaches near Kachirho. In the matter of mere seconds, dozens of clones were beaten to death by the hulking warriors, as well as shot by some wookiees who had their powerful _bowcaster_ weapons at hand. The clone squads of the 41st Elite Corps had to quickly compose themselves, in order to repel the enraged wookiees.

In the following moments the entirety of the beaches were filled with combat yet again, with the former allies now pitted against each other. The wookiees had historically been close friends to the Jedi Order for centuries, their modern culture revering the fearless Jedi Knights as heroic idols. Seeing one of the kindest, and most respected Jedi Masters killed at the hands of her own troopers, was a crime no wookiee would let stand.

They were determined to punish the treacherous clones for their betrayal, no matter the fact that those same clones had fought side by side with them to drive off the invading droid armies from Kashyyyk just a few hours earlier. The wookiees had been loyal members of the Republic for over three millennia, but despite that, their true loyalties lied with the Jedi, who were the shining beacon of justice and peace in the eyes of the people of Kashyyyk. And a betrayal of the Jedi was a betrayal of the wookiees, and that was something that no wookiee warrior was going to allow to continue without just punishment.

 **...**

Smoke rose up from several fires in the Jedi Temple, shrouding the thousands of years old building in black smog. Republic LAAT/i gunships rained fire upon the beautiful home of the Jedi Order, punishing the old building with rockets and laser cannon fire. Muffled gunfire could be heard from inside the Temple, indicating the all around bloodbath currently taking place.

Disembarking from a gunship landed on one of the landing pads, in front of one of the hangars in the Jedi Temple, Dark Acolytes Barriss Offee, and Sora Bulq, calmly walked their way towards the hangar, squads of clones belonging to the Coruscant Guard spearheading the attack. As the clones charged into the hangar, spraying blaster fire all around, and cutting down some of the non-Jedi workers, who were hunkered down inside. Even though they weren't Jedi, their devotion to serving the Order made them traitors to the Republic, along with all the non-Jedi security forces assigned to the Temple.

As they walked side by side, the young mirialan Dark Acolyte grunted quietly to herself, seething with annoyance. Her rival and colleague sensed her distasteful attitude, which made the weequay man hum quietly, catching Barriss' attention.

"Your childish temper tantrum is pointless, Barriss. We have a job to do here.." Bulq remarked, to which his mirialan colleague frowned deeply, grinding her teeth together.

"How can you go along with Lord Sidious demands when he clearly played both of us, and just handed the mantle of Dark Lord to Anakin!?" Barriss asked, barely able to keep her voice down, as she and Bulq continued to walk towards the Jedi Temple's hangar. The weequay Dark Acolyte sighed, rolling his eyes in frustration.

"Exactly! He used us to his advantage! Does that seriously shock you, Barriss? Lord Sidious never saw either of us being worthy of the title of Dark Lord.. hence he simply used to us to do his dirty work, until he could convert Skywalker. It's clear as day that he has always wanted that whelp to be his apprentice..." He stated, which only annoyed the young mirialan further.

"Then why are we doing this!? Why do we allow ourselves to be used as mere pawns!?" She asked, squeezing her hands tightly, feeling so outraged that her Sith Master had played her like a damn fiddle. Bulq then gazed at her, his expression looking as if he'd have expected Barriss to understand the situation already.

"Because if we don't, Sidious and Vader will simply kill us. We are no match for the both of them, and you already saw that Vader could beat us by himself. So that is why we cater to their needs, and make ourselves useful. As long as there's a need for our service, they won't turn on us.." The weequay man explained, which caused Barriss to scoff, and roll her eyes. The two of them stopped, and stared at each other again.

"You know that it won't last for long, Bulq. Sooner or later they'll get rid of us.." She said, to which her rival simply nodded in agreement.

"I know, which is why we need to work together... or we'll both end up on the chopping block.." The weequay explained, causing the mirialan in front of him to raise her eyebrows, folding her arms.

"And how exactly would we avoid getting killed? I won't waste my time working with you, if you don't even have a plan." Barriss said to him, not expecting Bulq to have many ideas in his ugly head. The weequay noted her sassy attitude, making him frown again.

"We need to work closely with Vader, make him think that we can be trusted. And when he least expects it, we'll kill him.." Bulq suggested, to which Barriss scoffed again, shaking her head.

"He'll never think I'm trustworthy, Bulq. Not after what I did to his little plaything, Ahsoka.." She replied, her voice filled with disgust, as she mentioned her former friend's name.

Barriss loathed Anakin, Bulq, and now Sidious. She wanted to just leave all of this behind herself, and live her life alone in peace. Scheming against the Sith seemed like a fool's errand to her, even though she knew that if she did nothing, she'd end up dead.

"Vader is confused and distraught at the moment. Once he fully embraces the Dark Side, he will see the benefits of having obedient servants under his command. Trust me.. he will think of us being useful." Bulq then explained, trying to assure his rival that his plan would work. Barriss didn't believe the weequay, though she knew that she didn't have a lot of options at this point.

"And he won't just kill me for what I did to Ahsoka? Lord Sidious would likely not care if that happened.." She stated, feeling like a complete idiot for ever thinking that she could have become a Sith Lord. Her master had truly tricked her into believing something that wasn't true, and that more than anything fueled her hatred.

"He probably wouldn't, but Vader doesn't know that. He won't do anything that might anger his new master.. so you're safe for the moment, Barriss. But it won't last, which is why we need to work together, in order to take down Vader.." Bulq replied to her, to which the young woman then sighed quietly, and nodded her head.

"Yeah.. fine, whatever. So after we kill Vader, what then?" She asked, folding her arms again, as she looked at her weequay colleague expectantly. The Dark Acolyte let out a quiet hum, as he stroked his wrinkly chin.

"Hopefully it will show Lord Sidious that we're not so feeble and easily controlled. He'll finally have some respect for both of us, and hopefully we'll then be able to continue on with the Kaggath. Sidious will need a new apprentice after all.." Bulq explained, which made Barriss raise her eyebrows.

"Oh really? So we'll work together to take down Skywalker, and after that we're back to trying to get each other killed?" The young mirialan asked, thinking that she should have known that Bulq still wanted her dead. The weequay man simply smirked, and nodded.

"Oh yes. After Vader is out of the way, I will stop at nothing in order to see you dead. So let's make sure that we get the most out of this brief partnership, eh?" He remarked with a devious chuckle, after which the man turned around, and once again walked towards the Jedi Temple's hangar area, leaving Barriss behind.

The young woman inhaled deeply through her nostrils, feeling her anger starting to boil inside of her again. She glared at the leaving weequay man, squeezing her hands again. Managing to keep herself from bursting out in a fit of rage, Barriss sighed quickly, biting her lip.

"Definitely... partner.." She said quietly, imagining the hundreds of ways she desired to kill the weequay man with. After that, she regained her composure, and also made her way into the Jedi Temple's hangars, while another squad of Coruscant Guard's employed clone troopers disembarked a recently landed gunship.

In the following moments, the two Dark Acolytes accompanied the dozens of clone troopers, who invaded the Jedi Temple from the top. The massacre inside the ancient headquarters of the Jedi would only become bloodier, with thousands of clones, and three skilled lightsaber users, all fighting fiercely to bring about the end of the Order. While the rest of Coruscant could only watch in horror from the sidelines, the Republic's most loyal and steadfast protectors were being wiped out by the thousands. It remained to be seen if there'd be any Jedi left standing by the time the Sith onslaught would end.

 **...**

A bright fiery explosion in the Jedi Temple could be seen clearly all the way from the large _Senate Apartment Complex_ building, located dozens of kilometers to the south. On the veranda of the luxurious penthouse suite, belonging to Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, the human female stood near the balcony, watching the Jedi Temple on fire in horror. Padmé had already retired to her bed for the night, wearing her nightgown, and having her hair undone.

She had her hand in front of her mouth, shaking slightly, as she stared at the ongoing destruction of the Jedi Temple. Padmé had no idea what was going on, and it terrified her, especially as she could see Republic gunships firing upon the Temple, as well as an Acclamator-class assault ship having positioned itself over the building, occasionally firing a few rounds of turbolaser cannons on the Jedi Temple's roof.

A tear rolled down the senator's cheek, as she could only pray that her dear friend Anakin wasn't currently at the Temple. As another explosion occurred, Padmé gasped quietly, more tears rolling down her cheeks, as her hand and lips trembled. She had for years found the Jedi being among her most trusted allies, and valuable friends, as she was, and had been close to both Anakin, and Obi-Wan Kenobi for well over a decade. Seeing the home of the Jedi Order crumbling under a Republic attack filled the young senator with sorrow and worry, as she could only guess at what was really going on.

As Padmé continued to stare at the burning Jedi Temple, she could hear the mechanical joints of her personal protocol droid C-3PO, as the golden droid approached her. Seeing Threepio only made her want to cry more, as she had gotten the droid from Anakin as a gift. She couldn't quite bear with how worried she was about the Jedi Master; they had been friends for so many years, and seeing the Jedi Temple being destroyed horrified her, making her wish from the bottom of her heart, that Anakin was safe.

"I haven't been able to raise anyone at the Jedi Temple, Miss Padmé. Don't worry.. I am sure that master Ani is alright.." Threepio reassured, standing next to the young senator, who sniffed quietly, nodding her head, and trying to keep herself from sobbing more.

"Thank you, Threepio... keep trying to reach him.." She replied to the protocol droid, who was quiet for a moment, contemplating the request. Threepio was advanced enough to know that his mistress was extremely distressed at the moment, and he wanted to help her. But seeing no way in which he could possibly comfort the young woman, Threepio simply nodded.

"Y-yes.. yes of course, Miss Padmé.." The droid answered, before slowly turning around, and making his way out of the veranda, his metallic joints squeaking as he pressed forward.

Only a few moments after Threepio had walked away, Padmé could then hear echoing footsteps approaching her. Turning around, she could notice her bodyguard and trusted advisor Gregar Typho walking up to her, another figure following him some meters behind, although it was too dark for her to make out who it was. The loyal human man with an eye-patch stopped in front of the former Queen of Naboo, bowing to her quickly.

"My lady, Senator Organa is here.." Typho announced, stepping aside, as the person behind him walked down the short flight of stairs, that led to the veranda. Padmé sighed deeply, as her longtime ally and friend, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan approached her, donned in his working outfit.

"Padmé! Are you alright?" The man asked, walking up to her, and placing his hands on her shoulders comfortingly. Padmé bit her lip, her cheeks wet from her tears.

"Bail, what is going on!? Why is the Jedi Temple being attacked..?" She asked, her voice trembling as she was about to burst into tears again. Her older and more experienced colleague sighed deeply, shrugging his shoulders.

"I have no idea why this is happening.. but the Chancellor has issued an emergency statement, proclaiming the Jedi as enemies of the Republic. The entire Senate District has been put under martial law; clone troopers and armed police officers are stopping anyone from entering or leaving..." Bail explained, worry clear in his face as well, which made his younger friend sigh, as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What are we going to do? We can't let this happen to the Jedi. What if Anakin is at the Temple!? He could be in danger..." Padmé then said, beginning to sob again, as she pulled away from her colleague, placing her hand in front of her mouth again, her shoulders shaking. Senator Organa shared his friend's worries, making him sigh as well.

"That's what I'm going to find out, Padmé. I'll head for the Temple, and see just what the blazes the clones are doing there.." The human man said, to which his longtime friend and colleague raised her eyebrows, as her eyes widened in surprise. Padmé glanced between Bail and the burning Jedi Temple for a moment.

"Are you crazy, Bail?! You just said that the entire area is under martial law.. they'd never let you into the Temple! I don't want you getting yourself killed as well.." She argued, pointing at the burning home of the Jedi in the horizon. Her senator colleague bit his lip, before sighing again, and rubbing his forehead.

"I have to figure out what is going on, Padmé. There is no reason for the Republic to attack the Jedi Temple... something is very wrong, and I need to find out what." The senator from Alderaan explained, making his friend inhale deeply, and exhale afterwards, as she sighed in sorrow and frustration.

"I just wish that Anakin is alright.. and all the other Jedi. It's terrible to see their home being destroyed like that..." Padmé lamented, rubbing her arm, as she again glanced at the Jedi Temple in flames, her lower lip trembling again. Senator Organa nodded in agreement, feeling outrageous about this turn of events.

"I fear that the clones have already crippled the Order, but we must hope or the best, Padmé. I'm going now; we'll meet later, later I've done some investigation. Let's hope that the Chancellor won't place us under curfew.." The human man said, to which his friend sighed again, and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good luck, Bail... just please be careful, and get out of there if things go bad. I can't lose any more of my friends tonight.." Padmé replied to him, to which Bail struck a faint reassuring smile to her, nodding again.

"I promise. I'll talk to you in the morning, Padmé.. may the Force be with you." He then said, as he turned around, and made his way out of Padmé's apartment's veranda, Captain Typho following him, after graciously bowing to the former queen, who smiled faintly for a few seconds.

After the two men had left, Padmé once again returned her attention to the Jedi Temple, which was only burning brighter now. The young senator walked to the edge of the balcony, folding her arms, as she looked on the destruction of the Temple. As the Acclamator-class assault ship fired a few rounds at the building, a massive explosion caught the root of one of the spires of the Temple. The spire crumbled, and collapsed onto the roof, dust and smoke rising up in the air, as the ancient home of the Jedi continued to slowly being destroyed, with its occupants more than likely facing ruthless slaughter inside.

As another explosion occurred, the muffled sound echoing in the horizon, Padmé burst into tears again. She sobbed as she could only think about how messed up the Galaxy was tonight. Her worry for Anakin was almost overwhelming her, making her cry more. She could not think of any reason why the Republic would attack the Jedi, and seemingly kill all of them, which only increased her distress and worry.

Continuing to sob, Padmé buried her face with her hands, her entire body trembling. The only thing she could do now, was hope for the best, that her dear friends Anakin and Obi-Wan were alright, and that things would calm down in the Republic. Knowing that she could do nothing else, Padmé spend the following dozen minutes just staring at the destruction of the Jedi Temple, continuing to sob.

She hoped to know more about the situation in the morning, as she was determined to everything in her power to help the Jedi evade any persecution. Whatever it was that the Republic had against them now, was something that Padmé was not going to believe to be true. The young senator had loyalty to the Galactic government, but despite of that, she would never support attacking the Jedi Order in such a brazen way. She was well aware that there were hundreds of children inside the Jedi Temple, all of whom were now in mortal danger. She would figure out a way to help the Jedi, no matter what it took; Padmé felt that she owed as much to her longtime allies and friends.

 **...**

Muffled explosions and cannon fire could heard inside the beautifully decorated meditation chamber, aboard the Hapan Royal Navy's flagship, the Song of War. Candles and incense calmly burned near the meditation pad of Ta'a Chume, the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, as she was in deep state of trance, utilizing her battle meditation powers. The fragrances from the expensive incense helped the Queen Mother concentrate, as she used her powers to give her military forces an edge over the Republic, against whom they were currently engaged in an intensive battle.

Ta'a Chume had her eyes closed, breathing slowly, being completely immersed in usage of battle meditation, the aura of the Force all around her. She could feel the battle around her, the loyal troops fighting in her name, taking the fight to the Republic forces, and managing to hold them back, despite the enemy's superior strength. The Queen Mother's powers enabled her forces to fight tougher, their morale and willpower strengthened, while the Republic's troops had their minds filled with doubt, fear and anxiety, which lowered their resolve, and put them in a disadvantage.

Battle meditation was one of the most powerful Force powers in existence, with only a few Jedi being able to master it in the Order's entire history. A powerful Force user could use it to decimate entire armies and fleets, the perfect example being the legendary _Bastila Shan_ , who first used her powers to give an advantage to the Sith Armada during the battle at _Rakata Prime_ in the Jedi Civil War, before returning to the light and turning the tide of the battle, and then using battle meditation against the Sith, nearly four thousand years before. Ta'a Chume was a prodigy, like Bastila Shan so many years before, with her skill in battle meditation being unmatched by any other Jedi in the Order.

It was because of her powers, that the Hapan fleet was even able to successfully wage war against the Republic. Without it, the vastly more experienced Republic military personnel, and their more advanced ships and weapons, could easily beat the strong, but comparatively feeble Hapan fleets with little casualties. However, because of the Queen Mother's determination and the usage of battle meditation, she had been able to utterly destroy the Republic fleets and armies that had come before her, up until now.

After continuing to deeply meditate for a few moments still, Ta'a Chume suddenly felt a stinging ache in her head. The pain awoke her from her trance, forcing her to open her eyes. The Queen Mother gasped loudly, as the pain got worse, moving from her head all over to the rest of her body. She could feel a great disturbance in the Force, the greatest she had ever felt before, as it made her react so violently. She could feel the deaths of hundreds of beings in mere seconds, all sending tremendous rifts in the Force. Something terrible was happening.

The great disturbance she could feel interrupted her deep meditation, as the Queen Mother collapsed on the floor from her comfortable seating pad. Ta'a Chume breathed heavily, feeling an ache in her heart, forcing her to grasp at her chest. The hapan woman tried to calm her breathing, feeling distressed, shocked and all around terrible. She'd have never expected to feel such a powerful disturbance in the Force, which made her more than a little weary.

After trying to figure out what was going on for a few moments, the Queen Mother's eyes then widened, as she realized that she was no longer using battle meditation to help her forces battle the Republic. Clenching her teeth together, the hapan woman attempted to get up, still feeling exhausted by the sheer magnitude of the disturbance she had just felt in the Force.

Startled, the Queen Mother tried to get on her meditation pad again, and resume using her powers, but before she could reach the seat, a powerful explosion shook the entire warship, causing the hapan woman to lose her footing. Ta'a Chume fell on the floor again, more violent explosions barraging her ship. Grunting quietly, the Queen Mother tried to get up in vain, the Song of War continuing to be pounded by the Republic fleet's powerful laser cannons.

As Ta'a Chume managed to finally get up, the ship's hull outside of the meditation chamber was hit with a powerful concussion missile, fired from one of the Victory-class cruisers in the Republic fleet. The explosion breached the hull, a huge wall of flame exploding into the chamber. The Queen Mother had no time to react, as the explosion devastated her meditation room, the shockwave sending her flying back, and slamming against a nearby wall.

The hapan woman moaned in pain, as the front of her body and clothes were mildly burned by the wall of fire, after which she fell hard on the floor. More explosions continued to pound the Battle Dragon, violently shaking it, as the interiors of the ship began to fall apart or explode. The Hapan Navy's flagship was quickly being destroyed, as the Queen Mother was unable to use her battle meditation to give an edge to her troops.

Breathing heavily, and feeling even more weakened, the startled hapan woman looked around quickly, seeing how her beautifully decorated meditation chamber caught on fire, and was slowly being destroyed right in front of her eyes. Shaking her head quickly to refocus, Ta'a Chume got up on her feet, and began to make her way towards the chamber's exit. She'd have to get out of here, and sound an evacuation for the ship, before she and her loyal servants would be killed.

Before she could reach the doors, another explosion inside the chamber once again pushed the Queen Mother down, her face slamming against the hard floor, and slightly fracturing her nose. Wasting no time mending to her injuries, Ta'a Chume attempted once again to leave her chamber, now crawling towards the doors.

Yet another explosion shook the ship, causing parts of the meditation chamber's ceiling to collapse. The Queen Mother looked up, her eyes widening as parts of the ceiling collapsed right on top of her. Not able to do anything to stop it, she was quickly buried under some of the rubble, a piece of metal striking her head, and knocking her unconscious.

As the meditation chamber continued to burn from the several explosions that had damaged it, the Queen Mother stayed lying on the floor, unconscious, and gravelly injured. The Song of War was quickly being destroyed, its crew now in full panic, attempting to either abandon ship, or trying to control the damage the ship was receiving.

Without their queen to bolster their morale and resolve with her powers, the entire Hapan Royal Navy was in danger of being utterly decimated. The Republic fleet was much better equipped and experienced to fight, and would soon gain the upper hand in the battle. Despite their initial success, with attacking several Republic worlds and utterly devastating their defenders, the Hapes Consortium's forces were now facing a complete defeat. And after removing the Hapans as a threat, the Republic would once again be nearly unstoppable, with no opposing power being able to rise up against them.

Despite the Queen Mother's best efforts at changing the Galaxy, it seemed that she would only go down in history as yet another leader, who attempted to wipe out the Republic from the face of the Galaxy. Hundreds, if not thousands of governments and factions had attempted it throughout the history, yet none of them had ever succeeded completely. The Republic had always persevered, as it would once again.

 **...**

Fire alarms rung across the hallways of the Song of War, dozens of the ship's crewmembers running around the smoke filled corridors, desperately attempting to flee, or put out the numerous fires raging inside the warship. The battle around Onderon's orbit had taken a sudden turn, as the Hapan Royal Navy was now surrounded by the Republic's battleships, pressing them between a hammer and an anvil.

Even though the Hapans had managed to destroy two Venator-class star destroyers, three Acclamator-class assault ships, and damage our other ships, they were now in trouble, with already nearly a dozen Battle Dragons and Nova-class cruisers being either destroyed, or heavily damaged, including the flagship, the Song of War.

Along a short hallway, filled with fire, smoke and rubble, two Royal Guardsmen of the Queen's court lied on the floor, along with them the unmoving body of a young human female, the Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam. The trio had been on their way to one of the escape pod areas onboard the Battle Dragon, before the tide of the battle had suddenly changed, with the Song of War coming under heavy attack. The following explosions and violent fires had incapacitated the entire group, injuring each one of them to a various degree.

Kriza opened her eyes, gasping loudly, as smoke filled her lungs. She coughed violently, feeling pain all over her body. The young girl looked around, finding herself lying on the cold floor. She could see the two guards lying near her, one of them clearly dead, and the other gravely injured, being stuck under some rubble. The young Jedi Padawan groaned quietly, crawling forward a few inches, before slowly forcing herself to get up on her knees. Her Jedi apparel was slightly torn and blackened by the smoke and fire, her face also having some ash on it.

"Attention! Abandon ship! I repeat: Abandon ship! Get our Queen out of her meditation chamber! The Song of War is going down!" The voice of Admiral Je'Kyll shouted through the intercom system, echoing along the hallway Kriza and the guards were located in.

The young human Jedi bit her lip, hearing about the Queen Mother still being inside of her chamber. She could only guess that something had gone wrong, because there was no way that the battle could turn in favor of the Republic so suddenly, unless Ta'a Chume's battle meditation had been interrupted.

Kriza could tell that whatever caused the sudden shift in the tide of the battle, had something to do with the excruciatingly painful disturbance in the Force she had felt just a few moments ago. She had felt an overwhelming pain inside of her, feeling the deaths of hundreds of beings through the Force. It had made her feel even weaker than she was after her Jedi Master Agen Kolar had died on Tanaab. She knew that something terrible had happened, though she had no idea what it was exactly. But she could tell that the Jedi were involved somehow, as she had felt the presence of some of her friends, when the disturbance had happened. It filled her with worry and extreme fear.

Looking around again, Kriza inhaled some smoke, coughing again, as she tried to figure out where to go from here. She knew that she had no time to help the guards lying by her, as the Hapan Battle Dragon was going down in flames. As she stood up, feeling slight pain all over her body, the young woman breathed heavily, coughing as she could do nothing to stop some smoke going into her lungs.

Although she wanted to leave, make her way to the escape pods, and flee the doomed ship, the young Padawan could not deny the feeling of debt she'd owe or the Queen Mother. Despite the fact that Ta'a Chume had imprisoned her, and kept her in a jail cell more than once, the Queen Mother had shown kindness to her before the battle, as she had given her guards the order to release Kriza, and allow her to escape.

As a good hearted and compassionate person, the human girl could not deny the fact that as a Jedi, she'd be expected to help the Hapan Queen Mother out to the best of her abilities. Kriza knew that Ta'a Chume likely did not deserve any help, considering all the atrocities she had committed during her war against the Republic. The Queen Mother had killed the Jedi Padawan's own master for crying out loud, yet the young woman knew that she'd hate herself for the rest of her days, if she would abandon her Jedi principles, which she held sacred.

Squeezing her hands, and cursing to herself quietly, Kriza bit her lip, and quickly made her way out of the corridor, heading towards the Song of War's bridge, and the Queen Mother's meditation chamber, that was located nearby. She knew that she could make a grave mistake, offering her help to the murderous Queen Mother, but she also knew that if she'd leave Ta'a Chume, or any of the hapan crewmembers of the ship to die, she could never look at herself in the mirror again, as she would think of herself having betrayed the holy principles of the Jedi Order.

Kriza had to offer her help, because unlike the Queen Mother, she would always stay true to her principles and morals, and stay as a faithful Jedi. She loved the Jedi Order, and she committed her entire being to the will of the Force. No matter what would happen, she would always be a true Jedi, one that was ready to give her life to save others, and one that was always willing to help those in need. Closing her eyes for a moment, stopping for a moment. The young Padawan took a deep breath, before continuing on.

"I'm with the Force.. the Force is with me..." She told herself quietly, before opening her eyes again, and starting to run towards the ship's bridge area.

No matter the Queen Mother's atrocities, she, along with everyone else, deserved a second chance. And Kriza knew that in her heart, Ta'a Chume, formerly known as Kayla Ni'Korish, still held tender feelings for her former Jedi brothers and sisters. Despite everything that had happened, Kriza was hopeful that the Queen Mother could maybe one day regret her actions, and make amends.

It was the duty of a Jedi to always see the good in people, and let those who have done wrong, to have the chance to change, and make amends for their mistakes. Compassion and forgiveness were sacred tenets for the Jedi, and Kriza, as a devout follower of the Order's ancient beliefs, would always hold these principles sacred to her as well. She would not change, no matter what would happen. She was a true Jedi, now and forever.

 **...**

Dust filled the air, as the ancient doors to the inner sanctum of Lord Kallig's tomb on Shili opened, creaking loudly, as they slid to the side, allowing Ahsoka, Ventress, Tana-Rey and R2 enter the sizeable room. The group had traversed the ancient tomb for the past few minutes, making their way to the core, where Ahsoka's ancestor's grave was located in.

The togruta girl walked in front of her companions, nervously looking around, as she entered the room. She could immediately spot a sort of an altar in the middle, having the sarcophagus of her ancestor placed on top of it. The entire room looked like a Sith sanctum, or a ritual room, which made her increasingly nervous. She could also see dozens of valuables placed all around the room, most likely sacrificial gifts, or her ancestor's former possessions, which included jewelry, golden valuables, and other items that were more than likely priceless. As she and her team began to explore the burial room, Ventress whistled quietly.

"Wow.. I bet that we could make a fortune, if we were to sell all of this stuff on the black market..." The dathomirian stated, her eyes gazing at the hundreds of invaluable artifacts. Tana-Rey let out a hum, as she walked over to some of the items.

"I recognize some of these artifacts... they are from Voss. However, I doubt that taking any of these would be a good idea, unless we plan on angering an ancient spirit.." The voss female noted, to which Ventress scoffed quietly, as she placed her arms on her waist.

"Well, since the spirit is apparently Ahsoka's ancestor.. maybe he'll let us keep some of this good stuff? I'm sure that Solo wouldn't mind if we paid him with old golden ingots and whatnot." She replied, chuckling quietly, as she looked around. Ahsoka bit her lip, as she could only stare at the intimidating looking sarcophagus of her dead ancestor. She felt a cold breeze, the entire room having a dark, uncomfortable aura about it.

"Let's just be careful and have a look around. My ancestor should appear somewhere... assuming that his spirit is still here.." The young togruta remarked, slowly walking over to the altar, stepping up a short set of stairs, that led her to the sarcophagus.

As she approached the rocky box, filled with all kinds of symbols, and decorative jewelry, Tana-Rey and Ventress explored the room further, taking a closer look at the various artifacts. R2 stayed put, his dome head spinning around, as the small droid scanned the area, chirping quietly to himself.

Ahsoka stepped over to the sarcophagus, taking a deep breath as she looked down at the highly decorated top of the box, inside of which her ancestor's body supposedly lied. She bit her lip, and gently touched the top of the sarcophagus, her hand pushing off some dust in the air, indicating that no one had seen the tomb for countless of years before her. As her hand slowly traced across the dusty surface, Ventress' voice interrupted her deep concentration.

"Ahsoka! Take a look at this... a lightsaber.." The dathomirian said from across the room, making her togruta friend raise her eyebrows, and turn her head to look at Ventress' direction.

The young togruta could see her dathomirian friend standing near another small altar, located near the right-side wall of the inner sanctum. Placed on a small stand, was an ancient, curved-hilt lightsaber, black and grey in color, looking slightly similar to the lightsaber that Count Dooku had owned. Ahsoka bit her lip again, as she looked at the lightsaber, pondering whether her ancestor truly was a Sith, or perhaps a former Jedi like Ashara, who had fallen and joined the Sith Empire.

Before she could ponder further, Ahsoka could suddenly feel a stinging pain inside her head. Clenching her teeth together, the togruta girl quickly fell on her knees, her ears ringing, and her entire body starting to ache. At the same time, Ventress had a similar reaction, groaning in pain, and falling down to her knees, holding her head, and chest, breathing heavily. Tana-Rey seemed to feel something as well, though her reaction was nowhere near as violent as her two companions. R2 looked around and beeped frantically, not sure what was going on with his Force-sensitive friends.

Ahsoka could hardly breathe, the amount of pain and aching she felt all over her body being quite overwhelming. She could tell that there was huge disturbance in the Force, one like she had never felt before. The young girl could feel death and suffering on a scale that she could never have even imagined. The Force pulsated with such amount of suffering, it made Ahsoka nearly faint.

She could recognize the presence of one of her longest friends, Plo Koon, suddenly fade away, as if his life force had been cut off from the universe. Tears rolling down her cheek, she grinded her teeth together harder. Something truly terrible was happening, and it made her feel weakened and horrible.

After a few moments, the disturbance faded away, and the overwhelming mental and physical pain Ahsoka felt slowly went away as well. Being able to breathe again, the young togruta let out a deep sigh, few tears of sweat rolling down her forehead. She slowly got up to her feet again, catching her breath. Ventress seemed to be recovering as well, standing up, and gasping for air for a short moment.

"By the Force... what was that!?" The dathomirian asked out of breath, looking exhausted. Tana-Rey took a few deep breaths as well, recovering her composure.

"A tremendous tremor in the Force. I have never felt so many rifts fluctuating across the entire Galaxy before... a lot of blood has been spilled.. that much I can tell..." The voss healer explained, rubbing her forehead slightly. Ahsoka let out a relieved sigh, the pain almost entirely gone now.

"I can't believe that just happened. It was as if I could feel the deaths of so many people.. all happening almost at the same time. I could... I could feel the life force of people I once knew fading away..." She said quietly, not wanting to believe that her old friends were dead. She had no idea how so many people, most likely Jedi, could die in such quick succession.

"Something definitely is going on, Ahsoka.. and I don't like it. But... let's just.. take a deep breath and move on. Whatever it was.. it's gone now.." Ventress remarked, exhaling long. Ahsoka sighed deeply, nodding in agreement.

She felt aching in her heart over the possibility of her dear friends being dead, or at least in grave danger, but she also knew that she could do nothing for them right now. Right now, she needed to get on with her quest to find her ancestor, and learn the mysterious powers that resided in her. Or, at least according to her other ancestor's spirit, Ashara Zavros.

Only a few seconds later, the entire atmosphere inside the already creepy sanctum changed. A freezing breeze blew through the room, making Ahsoka clench her teeth together again, and rub her arms. Ventress and Tana-Rey seemed to feel the strange change in the atmosphere as well, both looking around nervously.

Suddenly, several ancient torches placed all around the inner sanctum came to life. The torches became enflamed with unnatural fire, being purple in color, instead of orange. Ahsoka's heart beat faster, as the torches lit up one after another, each one emitting a strange aura from them. They were definitely being manipulated through the Force, even though the young girl had never known that the Force could create energy similar to natural fire. Ventress clenched her teeth together as well, as she witnessed the torches lighting up, reminding her of the Nightsisters of Dathomir, and their mysterious " _magicks_ ".

Swallowing audibly, Ahsoka could then feel another breeze coming from behind her. The cold air, made her shiver, as she could feel a presence nearby, similar to that of her ancestor, Ashara. The young togruta slowly turned around, towards the sarcophagus of her other ancestor.

As soon as she turned, her eyes were met with a shocking sight. Right in front of her, only a few inches away, stood a spirit of a human male. Ahsoka's eyes widened, as soon as she laid her eyes upon the bearded man, who simply stared back at her. Letting out a quick, yet loud and frightened scream, the young girl jumped back, falling down the short flight of stairs, and on the cold stone floor of the sanctum, landing hard on her bottom.

As she sat on the floor, Ventress and Tana-Rey sprung to action, running to their friend. The two women's eyes were then caught by the sight of the spirit, who stood in front of the sarcophagus, silently gazing at the three of them. Ventress' eyes widened, as she stepped next to Ahsoka, grabbing her lightsaber and activating it, pointing her weapon at the spirit. Her young togruta friend raised her eyebrows, surprised that her companions could also see the ghost.

"Stay back, whatever you are!" The defiant dathomirian shouted, although her hands were shaking slightly. Ahsoka could tell that her friend was frightened, likely having never seen a Force apparition. Tana-Rey on the other hand gazed upon the spirit with curious eyes, fascinated by the sight.

"Incredible.." The young voss female muttered quietly to herself, her blue glowing eyes staring at the spirit with awe, as well as respectful fear.

The spirit didn't say anything, simply staring at the three women. As Ahsoka continued to sit down on the cold floor, she could pay closer attention to the ghost in front of her at the altar. The human man's spirit didn't look exactly the same as the ones that she had seen before, namely her other ancestor Ashara. Ahsoka could tell that this man was no Jedi, but something completely different. A strange, unnatural and quite frightening aura surrounded the ghost, making the young togruta nervous.

The ghost was wearing a decorative, although a bit peculiar light armor, that was also combined in a Jedi-type robe. His clothing looked as ancient as the tomb his body rested in, indicating just how long Ahsoka's lineage went back. The togruta girl bit her lip, as the ghost frowned, looking at the three women, and the astromech droid.

"What did you hope to accomplish here, trespassers? Have you intruded upon the tomb of Darth Nox, once a leading member of the Dark Council, in hopes of scoring a quick loot of gold and jewelry? Well.. intruding upon my grave will be the last mistake you ever make..." The spirit announced, his voice echoing in the room. Ahsoka's eyes widened, her heart pounding in her chest. She had never even heard about a " _Darth Nox_ ".

"What.. no, NO! We're not grave robbers! We came here to seek you out!" She exclaimed, attempting to stand up. Her ancestor's spirit frowned deeper, not seemingly buying it.

"I find that hard to believe. I have rested here for who knows how long, without anyone bothering my eternal slumber. But the Force awoke me... I can feel that something has changed in the Galaxy. There's an evil aura all around, rifts and tremors filling the atmosphere..." The human man explained, looking around for a moment. The spirit then frowned, staring at Ventress, who was still holding her lightsaber pointed at the ghost, trying to keep Ahsoka back.

"Not to mention that the _rattataki_ has a lightsaber. So.. what, are you pawns of some petty Dark Lord of the Sith, come to steal my valuables? It's a shame your master didn't tell you not to anger the spirit of one of the greatest Sith Lords that ever lived!" The spirit boasted, which Ahsoka couldn't figure out if it was simply a scare tactic, or if the human man's ghost was about to assault them. Ventress scoffed quietly, biting her lip.

"I'm not even rattataki.." The dathomirian noted, figuring that the ancient spirit had never met a dathomirian like her, who often were mistook for rattataki, who looked similar. The human man's ghost seemed to hear Ventress' snarky comment, frowning deeper.

"Silence!" He shouted, suddenly reaching out with his left hand, lifting the dathomirian in the air, and choking her. Ventress' eyes were wide open, as she had not expected that at all.

Ahsoka's mouth dropped wide open in fear, as she could see her friend being choked through the Force. The young togruta had no idea Force ghost could even use such powers after death. As Ventress dropped her lightsaber hilt on the ground, Ahsoka sprung on her feet, and took a step towards the spirit.

"No! Please! We are not here to take anything from you! I'm your descendant.. I'm Ahsoka Tano!" She said, her voice trembling, as her friend was still being choked, struggling to get in any air into her lungs. The spirit of Darth Nox simply scoffed, shaking his head.

"If you plan on lying, girl.. at least come up with something better..." The spirit replied nonchalantly, continuing to choke Ventress, who was starting to lose consciousness. Ahsoka's heart kept pounding in her chest, her hands shaking. She had to think of something quickly. Tana-Rey stood by, not knowing what to do either.

"I... wait! Ashara has spoken with me! She told me to seek you out in the first place!" Ahsoka then exclaimed, hoping that the name of his long lost wife would stop the Sith Lord.

The human spirit's eyes widened, his entire body becoming tensed up. Following that, the man let Ventress go, the dathomirian falling on the cold floor, coughing and gasping for air. As Ahsoka let out a relived sigh, seeing that her strategy worked, her eyes were met with the ghost's then, who stared at her for a few long seconds.

"Ashara..? How do you know about her..?" He asked, his voice not as powerful and intimidating anymore, but filled with shock and confusion. Ahsoka bit her lip, her heart still beating fast.

"You and her are my ancestors.. I was able to enter this tomb because of our shared blood in the first place." The young togruta explained, to which the Force ghost continued to stare at her with a shocked expression. Ahsoka breathed heavily, turning her gaze to Ventress, who was now being helped by Tana-Rey, still trying to calm her breathing after being subjected to the powerful choking.

"I am your ancestor, child..?" Darth Nox asked quietly, looking up and down Ahsoka's body, as if trying to see any resemblance in her with someone else, possibly Ashara. The young girl took a deep breath, nodding her head slowly.

"Y-yes... I don't think the DNA scanner at the front door would have allowed me to pass otherwise.." Ahsoka replied to her ancestor, rubbing her arm slightly. The human man's spirit stared at her for a few seconds still, before his glowing body suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke-like energy.

Before the young togruta could react in any way, her ancestor's spirit manifested out of nowhere right in front of her, only a few inches away. Letting out a surprised moan, Ahsoka took a step back, as the bearded human man stared at her. The spirit then suddenly reached out with his hand, practically touching the young girl's forehead, even if his body would simply go through her.

Without a warning, the spirit used the Force to probe Ahsoka's mind, sending her into sort of a trance. In the span of mere seconds, her entire life flashed right in front of her eyes. She saw all of her existing memories in millions of flashing images and flashbacks, starting from her earliest memories of living on Shili, and being discovered by Master Plo Koon, all the way to being impaled with a lightsaber aboard the Peacemaker, and later meeting her ancestor Ashara. As the togruta girl's mind was being read by Darth Nox, Ventress and Tana-Rey watched in worry, as their friend twitched and shook violently, her eyes rolled back.

"Ahsoka!" The dathomirian exclaimed, trying to get up and help the togruta girl, but was stopped by the voss healer, who knew that interrupting what the spirit was doing could be dangerous.

After a few moments, the Force ghost stopped probing his descendant's mind, making Ahsoka jump back to reality and gasp for air, as she fell on one knee. She breathed heavily, having not experienced something like the mind probing she received ever before. Gathering her strength, she exhaled long, and stood back up, turning her attention back to her ancestor, who again had a look of disbelief on his face.

"You are my descendant... my flesh and blood.." The spirit remarked, his expression still looking like he couldn't quite believe it. Ahsoka bit her lip, feeling a bit overwhelmed as well. She could never have guessed that she had human blood in her; she hadn't even known for sure whether humans and togruta could procreate.

"At first I didn't quite believe it myself.. but apparently it's true..." She replied to the human spirit, who struck a slight smile, which was something his descendant had not expected to see. Ventress and Tana-Rey next to Ahsoka still had worried looks on their faces, the dathomirian finally able to breathe normally again.

"Ahsoka, are you alright? That didn't look good..." She asked the young togruta, who bit her lip, and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, yeah.. I'm alright." Ahsoka answered, to which her friend sighed quietly, and nodded in acknowledgment. The spirit of the togruta's ancestor quickly glanced at Ventress, letting out a quiet hum.

"Apologies for that.. I didn't know who you people truly were. For all I knew, some overconfident Sith Lord could have send you to steal my buried valuables, in an effort to gain legitimacy.. " He explained, making the dathomirian raise her eyebrows at the ghost, before waving her hand slightly.

"Well... it's not every day you get to be choked by a dead ancient Sith Lord..." Ventress answered quietly, looking a bit bothered, clearly still not comfortable being around the spirits of the dead. After that exchange, the human man turned his attention back at Ahsoka.

"Now, tell me, child.. why have you sought me out?" The spirit asked, his earlier Sith Lord attitude now completely gone, and replaced by quite a pleasant and friendly tone, which more surprised Ahsoka more than a little. The togruta girl bit her lip, and rubbed her arm again.

"I.. well, your.. uh.. wife, Ashara, seems to think that I possess some special powers. She says that harnessing them is a part of my destiny.. the Galaxy will face dark days, according to her, and I need those powers in order to fight that darkness..." She explained to her ancestor, who folded his partly transparent arms, humming quietly.

"Those dark days have already arrived, child... did you not feel that great disturbance just now? The tremors and rifts in the Force are the greatest I have felt since the wars I fought in so many years ago..." The human man explained, looking between Ahsoka and her friends.

His descendant grinded her teeth together, the idea of the prophesized "dark days" making her nervous. Darth Nox then stroked his chin, seemingly thinking about something for a moment.

"But.. special powers, you said?" The spirit stated, before stroking his beard more, thinking more deeply. Ahsoka nodded her head, but before she could say anything, her ancestor's eyes widened, as he suddenly snapped his fingers once, smirking and nodding his head.

"Ah, of course! Ashara thinks that you have the potential of becoming a _Force Walker_.." He then announced in a rather cheery voice. Ahsoka and Ventress both raised their eyebrows, quickly glancing at each other.

"A... Force Walker..?" The young togruta asked in a quiet voice, glancing back at her ancestor.

She had never even heard of such a term before, nor did she know what it could possibly mean. Ventress nor Tana-Rey didn't seem to know either, as they glanced at each other with confused expressions. Ahsoka's ancestor once again stroked his bearded chin.

"I suppose that none of you have ever heard of _force walking_ before, correct? It is an ancient Sith ritual, which allows an individual to bind the spirits of the dead to their will.. harnessing their essence and power.." He then explained, which made his descendant's eyes widen. Ahsoka had the power to bind ghosts, and harness their essence?

"I... you think that I could do that? Why would I, though?" The young girl asked, to which her ancestor replied with a short chuckle.

"To become more powerful, of course! I was considered the greatest Force Walker during my time. I can only assume that Ashara believes that you'll need to harness the powers of the dead, in order to fight the darkness.." The human man's ghost explained in a friendly and informative tone. Ahsoka certainly thought that Darth Nox wasn't very Sith-like anymore.

"But.. you said that it's a Sith ritual. I'm not Sith..." She answered to her ancestor, who let out a small laugh.

"Neither am I, child. True, I was known as Darth Nox for a very long time.. a true Dark Lord of the Sith. However, I left that life behind me in the end.. and now, people know me as Kallig." The spirit informed, to which Ahsoka bit her lip, nodding in acknowledgment, though not knowing how to respond. Kallig could see this, which made him chuckle again, and gather his thoughts.

"My point is, you don't have to be a Sith in order to master force walking, Ahsoka. You don't look like a Jedi, so I'm hoping that you're not against learning some Sith techniques, that will help you a long way.." He explained, which sent shivers down his togruta descendant's spine.

Ahsoka always felt her heart aching, whenever someone mentioned the Jedi. It reminded her of all the things she regretted about leaving the Order, not to mention reminding her about her lover Anakin.

"Well... I'm not sure about that. How would I even learn?" She then asked, after gathering her thoughts again, not wanting to mope around thinking about her lost lover. Her human ancestor smirked again slightly, chuckling.

"Well, I'll teach you, of course. That is why my wife sent you here. I'll teach you how to bind the spirits of the dead.. and as a final test, you'll then attempt to bind me." Kallig explained, which made his descendant's eyes widen in slight shock.

She had no idea whether she was even up for something like this. Her dathomirian friend seemed unsure as well, although the voss female next to Ventress looked more than a little fascinated by all of this.

"Bind you? What do you mean..?" Ahsoka asked quietly, her lower lip trembling ever so slightly.

She knew for a fact that if binding spirits to one's will wasn't dangerous, the Jedi would likely teach it, or let alone tell about it. Mingling with ancient Sith rituals was definitely something the former Jedi wasn't comfortable with. However, since she was no Jedi anymore, and the fact that the earlier disturbance in the Force had been so strong, and so disturbing, Ahsoka knew that she had to do something in order to prepare herself, and it seemed like this was the only way.

"You will bind me to your will.. submit me to your rule, and I will lend you my strength and power. That is how a Force Walker gains more power.. the spirits of the dead will lend you their strength, willingly or otherwise..." Kallig explained further, at which point Ventress stepped in, grabbing Ahsoka's arm gently, getting her attention.

"Ahsoka, we can still walk away from this. I don't like the idea of you having bunch of dead spirits running around inside your head... what if they possess you, or worse?" The dathomirian asked, sounding her worry to the young togruta, who bit her lip as a response. Kallig hummed quietly, glancing at Ventress, before a faint smirk appeared on the human spirit's face.

"She should be more than safe, as long as I'm the first spirit she binds to her will. Binding multiple spirits and ghosts can be dangerous, which was something I had to endure. I fell ill with a deadly Force disease, that slowly ate away my mind, allowing the spirits I had bound to wreak havoc to my body. I eventually managed to find a cure, and shield myself from the binding's side-effects... and I believe that because of this, I'm able to protect Ahsoka as well..." He explained, sounding confident in his descendant's ability to bind spirits, and use their strength to add to her own.

Ahsoka could feel heat on her forehead, as she sighed quietly, rubbing her arm again. The whole force walking idea sounded even more risky now, but the young togruta felt like she was out of options.

"Force disease!? Oh, forget this! Ahsoka, let's get out of here.. we don't need any ghosts to aid us..." Ventress then said, grabbing her togruta friend's arm slightly tighter, attempting to pull her away. Ahsoka sighed, and pulled her arm back, glancing at her slightly shocked friend.

"I need to do this, Asajj... I can't give up now, and you know it. I'll be fine... I'm always fine.." She assured to the dathomirian, whose expression was filled with worry.

"You saw what happened aboard the Peacemaker. I'm just trying to keep you from harm, Ahsoka... goodness knows what Skywalker would do to me, if I let you get hurt again.." Ventress replied, to which Ahsoka sighed quietly again, smiling faintly, as she touched the dathomirian's shoulder.

"That was never your fault, Asajj... and what happens to me never will be your fault. I'm doing this for Anakin and myself.. as well as all of my friends such as you. Please.. support me in this.. it's all I ask.." She said to her friend in a tender voice, to which the dathomirian woman sighed deeply, before slowly nodding.

"Yeah... I'll stand by you in this. Just know that I'll keep my eye on you.. I won't let some dead Sith Lords, or whatever to mess with your head.." Ventress answered with a slight chuckle, which made the young togruta smile wider again, as she quickly gave her friend's shoulder a reassuring rub. Ahsoka then turned her attention back to her ancestor, who patiently waited for her to speak again.

"Okay.. I'm ready to learn, Kallig. What do I need to do?" She stated to her ancestor, who smiled, and stood a bit straighter, his translucent body glowing.

"Follow me, and we will begin your training. I have to say... I never expected to meet a distant descendant of mine. You do have Ashara's and our daughters' beauty in you.. it seems like those good genes have stayed strong in our family's lineage." Kallig noted with a slight chuckle, to which his descendant raised her eyebrows, rubbing the back of her neck a bit.

"Uh, thanks.. I think. Lead on.." She replied, after which the ghost chuckled again, before suddenly disappearing in a puff of energetic smoke. Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, and looked around, her friends doing the same, trying to locate the spirit of Kallig.

After a few seconds, the young togruta could then spot her ancestor's spirit materializing several meters away, at the other end of the room, behind the altar on top of which his sarcophagus was placed. Kallig's ghost stood straight near another small altar, that was located right beside the inner sanctum's back wall. Not saying anything, the spirit simply waited, as Ahsoka could figure that he wanted her to come to him.

Biting her lip, the togruta girl quickly glanced back at her friends, who both looked slightly worried, although Tana-Rey seemed like she was more fascinated than worried about the situation, whereas Ventress looked incredibly stressed out; her arms folded and her foot tapping on the stone floor.

"It'll be alright... just look around, and stand by. I don't think this will take forever.." She assured, to which her dathomirian friend sighed yet again, and nodded in understanding, with Tana-Rey simply smiling, and nodding as well. The voss healer was likely exhilarated by having so many new experiences, and seeing so many new things.

After that, Ahsoka took a deep breath, before she made her way across the room, walking to her awaiting ancestor. As she got to the back wall, and the small decorated altar, Kallig smiled again, and motioned the young girl to sit down on an ancient meditation pad, which was placed on the floor near the altar. The pad was somewhat decayed, even though the mostly airtight tomb preserved the objects within it quite well.

As Ahsoka sat down on the meditation pad, getting in a lotus position, her ancestor cleared his throat quickly, before talking again. The young togruta had to admit that she found the ancient former Sith Lord quite friendly, and so far pleasant to be around with. She could begin to see why her other ancestor, Ashara, once fell in love with the man.

"Now.. listen closely, child. We have a lot to go through..." Kallig began, his voice calm and informative. Ahsoka's breathing was calm and steady now, as she was able to clear her mind off the terrible feeling she had had earlier, sensing the great disturbance in the Force.

As Ventress, Tana-Rey and R2 stood by, silently walking around the inner sanctum and looking around, Ahsoka centered all her focus around listening to her ancestor speak, and explain to her the basics of the powers the young togruta possessed. It would take some time, but with Kallig's guidance, Ahsoka hoped that she would learn everything she'd need, in order to be powerful enough to fight the darkness that had already arrived, and was consuming the Galaxy at this very moment.

No matter how unsure she was about using the powers of dead spirits to her own advantage, she knew that if she didn't do anything, everyone she loved and cared about could be in danger. The great disturbance in the Force had shown her, that something big and terrible was on its way; something that would change the Galaxy forever.

Ahsoka had been a Jedi for nearly all of her life, with many of their principles and teachings still playing a great role in her life. Abandoning them completely, and pursuing a new path, a "third path", as her ancestor Ashara had told, was something that the young girl was more than doubtful of doing.

However, she knew that nothing in the universe ever remained the same forever, and so, she was determined to follow this new path set in front of her, wherever it might take her. In the end, Ahsoka only wished to bring peace to the Galaxy, and build a better future for both her and her lover Anakin, as well as her friends and other loved ones. To this end, she wanted to learn to use these powers, even if they were morally ambiguous. She knew that she would never allow herself to fall to the Dark Side, nor would she ever harm innocents, and that was what kept her conscience at peace, as she moved forward with this new direction. No matter what, she'd do this all for the greater good.

 **...**

Fire and smoke rose up from destroyed and damaged _holobook_ shelves, as well as the computer consoles placed all around the Jedi Archives, inside the Temple. The bodies of dozens of clones, as well as many Jedi and the Temple's Security Forces' members laid dead on the damaged floors, littering the once beautiful place of study and enlightenment.

Walking over several bodies, and destroyed furniture, the newly inducted Sith Lord Darth Vader, made his way along the Archives' _Third Hall_ , which would allow him to access the Jedi Temple's highly secure data rooms, as well as the central security station. The human Sith Lord had little interest in the Jedi holobooks, as they contained little to no information about the Sith, and their ancient teachings. The Jedi's most well guarded secrets were hidden inside the data rooms, as well as in ancient _holocrons_ , located in the tightly sealed _Holocron Vault_.

Vader had also received further orders from his new Sith Master, Darth Sidious, to take over the Temple's central security station, and access the _Jedi Temple's signal beacon_ , that would relay a message to all the Jedi across the Galaxy. The young human man's new master had plans to lure back all the Jedi that would no doubt survive the initial stages of Order 66, and go into hiding. If those Jedi received a message through the Jedi beacon, ordering them to return to the Jedi Temple, there was a chance that even more Jedi would spell their own doom in the coming days.

As the hooded Sith Lord slowly walked through the hallway, several clones of the 501st Legion stormed the aisles between the holobook shelves, engaging the Jedi and non-Jedi security forces, that were still left alive inside the Archives. Vader had not directly had to engage many Jedi in combat yet, as most of them had been too busy to notice their former friend's changed allegiance, and instead focused on the invading clone troopers.

A lone clone trooper of the 501st quickly ran past Lord Vader, scanning his near vicinity for any threats. After the trooper had gotten a few meters away from his Sith commander, the sudden sound of a lightsaber activating caught both his, and Vader's attention. As if out of nowhere, an enraged Jedi Knight jumped down from the upper section of the library hallway, leaping on top of the clone. With a skillful falling strike, the human Jedi killed the trooper instantly, impaling the clone's white and blue armor.

Darth Vader stopped on his feet, staring at the Jedi who had just killed one of the Sith Lord's subordinate clone troopers. The human Jedi, whom the Sith recognized as being Knight _Kai Justiss_. Vader hadn't gotten to know the man well during his time as a Jedi, though he did know that the young Knight was a skilled warrior. As Justiss got up, he quickly glanced at Vader, swinging his lightsaber.

"Skywalker, get down!" The human Jedi Knight shouted, apparently still believing the newly inducted Sith Lord to be a member of the Jedi Order. Justiss then suddenly threw his lightsaber forward using the Force, the blue blade spinning in the air towards Lord Vader.

Vader's eyes widened slightly, as he had to quickly crouch, dodging the incoming lightsaber blade. The blue blade right over the human man's hooded head, flying at another clone trooper that was positioned behind the Dark Lord. The Jedi Knight's lightsaber struck the unsuspecting clone, killing him instantly with a deep cut.

As the clone soldier fell dead on the floor, Justiss called back his lightsaber, pulling the hilt back towards him with the Force. Vader bit his lip, knowing that he had only a split second to act. The human Sith Lord quickly grabbed his own lightsaber hilt, activating the weapon, and slashing upward, cutting his former Jedi colleague's lightsaber hilt in half, as it passed above his head.

The two halves of the destroyed weapon fell on the floor, sliding across the surface past Justiss, who had a shocked and confused expression on his battle worn face. Vader stood back up, stoically staring at the young Knight, who couldn't believe his eyes.

"Anakin.. what are-" The confused man tried to ask, before his eyes suddenly widened, and his breathing was obstructed.

Vader had his hand reached out, choking Justiss through the Force. The human Sith Lord then lifted the young Jedi Knight off the ground, levitating him in the air for a few seconds, continuing to choke the life out of him. Without a warning, Vader squeezed his hand into a fist, crushing Justiss' throat ruthlessly. There was an audible crack noise, after which blood poured out of the young human's mouth. Sighing quietly, Vader let go of the now dead Jedi Knight's body, allowing it to fall on the floor.

Biting his lip, the young Sith Lord shook his head slightly, not wanting to think about what he had become. Killing his former Jedi brothers and sisters was something he had never wished to see himself doing, but unforeseen events had forced the young human man to change drastically. In his desperate attempt at trying to find a way to keep his loved ones from dying, the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker had become everything he once loathed; a Dark Lord of the Sith.

Regaining his composure, the Sith Lord focused again on his objective. Once again making his way along the library hallway, Lord Vader could see more clone troopers assaulting the Archives, proceeding to further destroy the holobook shelves and archival computers, wiping out thousands of ancient works of literature and art. Most of the Jedi defenders of the Archives had already been killed, as the clone forces sent in more and more troopers, overwhelming the Jedi and the Temple's security forces.

Walking towards the small entrance to the data rooms, Vader still held his blue bladed lightsaber activated, ready for anything. As he approached the doors at the other end of the Third Hall, he could suddenly hear more gunfire, followed by the sounds of a lightsaber swinging, and striking something. After a second, the Sith Lord stopped on his feet again, as a wounded clone trooper suddenly flew through the air right in front of him, slamming against one of the bronzium busts of one of the _Lost Twenty_ Jedi Masters, that were placed alongside the hallway's holobook shelves. The clone trooper destroyed the bust with his body, before falling on the damaged floor, dying in quick fashion.

Immediately after the clone had died, Vader looked at the direction the trooper had flown from. He could see a female rodian Jedi running out of one of the aisles, swinging her green bladed lightsaber around. The young woman, apparently a Padawan, had ash and minor wounds on her face, her clothes dirty and rugged as well from all the fighting. The rodian quickly approached Lord Vader, likely thinking that he was still Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker, like Kai Justiss and Jurokk had thought as well.

"Master Skywalker!" The rodian shouted in a slightly distressed voice, probably expecting the former Jedi Master to aid her with battling the rampaging clone troopers.

As the Jedi Padawan got closer to the Sith Lord, Vader squeezed his hands, closing his eyes, and sighing yet again. He was still in conflict with himself, finding it harder and harder to work against his former friends and colleagues, and go as far as to kill them in cold blood. Killing Justiss hadn't felt good, but the young Sith Lord could slowly feel something brewing inside of him, something powerful and dark.

Without a warning, the human Sith opened his eyes, frowning deeply, and squeezing his lightsaber hilt in his hand. Vader then swung his blade, lunging at the young rodian Padawan, who's big eyes widened, as she attempted to raise her own lightsaber in defense. The Jedi Padawan wasn't quite fast enough, as Darth Vader ruthlessly swung his lightsaber at her, managing to cut off her right hand, which was holding her lightsaber. Moaning in pain, the young woman couldn't react any further, as the human Sith Lord swung his lightsaber for a quick second, before bringing it around another attack, savagely slashing at the rodian's throat, nearly decapitating her. The Padawan quickly fell on the floor, having died near instantly.

After killing the rodian woman, Vader breathed heavily, his hearting pounding inside of his chest. Taking deep inhales through his nostrils, the young Sith Lord could feel a dark aura around himself, making him feel cold, but oddly comfortable. He could feel how the Dark Side was starting to consume him, with every Jedi life he took. Vader remembered how he had felt similar to this during the times he had been enraged, filled with an overwhelming feeling of anger. At such times in the past, the young man Anakin Skywalker had often lashed out in violence, like in the aftermath of her mother dying because of Tusken Raiders.

Deactivating his lightsaber, the Sith Lord sighed deeply, before once again continuing on towards the entrance to the data rooms inside the Jedi Archives. The hooded human man got to the entrance in a few moments, the slaughter and senseless destruction of the Jedi Temple continuing to rage on all around him, with dozens of clone troopers ruthlessly engaging their former Jedi comrades.

Just as Lord Vader made his way to the entrance of the data rooms, already being able to see the dozens of highly secured computers and server modules within, the human man could suddenly feel another presence of a Jedi, slowly approaching him from behind. Frowning slightly, the Sith Lord held his lightsaber hilt tighter again, figuring that he was about to be attacked soon.

"Stop!" A weakened, yet still strong and determined voice of a woman shouted behind the former Jedi Master. Raising his eyebrow, the Sith Lord turned around, noticing the elder Jedi Master, and the _Chief Librarian_ of the Archives, _Jocasta Nu_ , standing a few meters away from him, holding her blue bladed lightsaber at the ready.

The elder human female's body was battle worn, her clothes damaged and slightly burned from the intense fighting, and small bleeding wounds dotting her tired face. Once the respected and revered leader of the Jedi Archives, the old Jedi Master now looked like a roughed up war refugee, her expensive Jedi apparel heavily tarnished and damaged. Breathing heavily, Madame Jocasta held her lightsaber in a readying stance, glaring at the Sith Lord before her.

"In the name of the Jedi Order... I order you to stand down, Master Skywalker!" The elder woman said strongly, even though her voice trembled slightly. Her hands were shaking as well, Lord Vader easily able to sense her exhaustion and weariness.

"I need to access the signal beacon, Master Jocasta. Step aside, and leave.." The human Sith Lord answered in a monotone voice, warning the elder Jedi Master to leave now, and have her life spared. The Jedi Librarian frowned, and shook her head defiantly.

"I will not allow you to continue! Enough blood has been spilled inside our sacred halls.. it ends now!" Master Jocasta replied, taking a step towards the young Sith Lord, who frowned deeper, and activated his lightsaber.

Before the two could clash their blades together, Lord Vader could then notice a single clone trooper standing several meters away from them, his sights set at Master Jocasta Nu. The 501st trooper raised his DC-15A blaster rifle, and aimed for the elder human Jedi's head. Pulling the trigger, the clone's rifle sent out a powerful blaster bolt, flying straight at the Jedi Librarian.

Without much effort, Master Jocasta swiftly swung her lightsaber, deflecting the incoming shot without even looking, and sending it back at the clone. The blaster bolt struck the trooper right below his throat, piercing the upper chest section of his armor, and killing him near instantly. After the clone dropped dead on the floor, a smoking hole in his armor, the Jedi Archive's leader returned her attention to the Sith Lord in front of her, who silently stared at her, and activated his lightsaber.

"The Jedi Order will endure.. it always has, and always will. You cannot defeat us all!" The elder woman said in defiance, grinding her teeth together. Darth Vader frowned deeper, gripping his lightsaber tighter. The Jedi Master's aggressiveness fed the Dark Side growing stronger inside of him.

"It will endure only if you stay out of my way..." The Sith Lord replied quietly, clenching his teeth together. He could feel how he was filled with more and more anger, something he didn't desire to happen, but could do nothing to stop it. Master Jocasta sighed quietly to herself, shaking her head.

"Master Kenobi would be ashamed of you, Anakin.." The elder Jedi Master remarked, which caused the human man's eyes widen.

The young Sith Lord frowned even deeper, grinding his teeth together. Hearing the Jedi Librarian mention his former master enraged him, as he had not thought about Obi-Wan in a little while. Worry and fear for his former master's life only fueled the young man's hatred.

Lord Vader swung his lightsaber around, before lunging at Master Jocasta Nu in a fit of rage. The young man had given himself to his anger, acting out on emotion alone, as he struck at the elder Jedi Master. With a savage slash, the Sith Lord attempted to kill the Jedi, who despite her old age, was able to quite athletically dodge the incoming attack.

As Vader's attack missed, Master Jocasta moved to the side, spinning around quickly, moving behind the young man, and attempting to strike at him herself. The Sith Lord skillfully blocked the incoming slash, moving his lightsaber over his head, and covering his backside. After a few seconds, Vader turned back around, pulling his blade away from Master Jocasta's. Before the elder woman could react further, the young man performed a quick but strong Force push. The powerful push sent the elder Jedi Master sliding back across the floor several meters, though not tipping over or losing her balance, as Jocasta Nu was able to defend herself slightly with the use of the Force.

Lord Vader immediately followed with another attack, swinging his lightsaber around, and running after the Jedi Master, who now was standing at the doorway to the Jedi Archive's data rooms. With several vicious attacks, the Sith Lord struck at the elder Jedi, forcing her to fall back inside the data rooms, as she had to put much effort into blocking and deflecting each of the enraged man's attacks.

After a few moments of vicious fighting, the elder human female was getting more exhausted, the earlier fights she had to be involved in heavily weighing down on her. The young and fit Sith Lord saw his chance at ending this short duel with the Jedi Librarian, his anger still burning strongly inside of him, like a great wildfire. Like he had done with Master Vos earlier, Lord Vader used the hatred and anger inside of him to defeat his new Jedi enemies.

With a quick but strong strike, Vader managed to force Master Jocasta's lightsaber to fly out of her hand, leaving the elder woman completely defenseless. In the following instant, the Sith Lord reached out with his left hand, grabbing the Jedi Master with the Force, and lifting her up in the air. Unable to do anything to defend herself, Master Jocasta was completely at the mercy of the angered Sith Lord, who swiftly pulled her to him through the Force, savagely impaling her through the stomach with his lightsaber.

Feeling the life force escaping the elder Jedi Master's body, Darth Vader took in a long and deep breath, before allowing Master Jocasta go, letting her body fall on the floor, as she died. Immediately after the Jedi Librarian had died, Vader could feel a strong rush of adrenaline go through his veins. Deactivating his lightsaber, the human man took a few moments to take in the exhilarating feeling. His eyes turned from their blue color to glowing yellow for a few seconds, before disappearing as he blinked.

The Dark Side had finally overwhelmed the former Jedi Master, as he allowed himself for the first time to be immersed in complete darkness. The feeling was nothing that the young human man had ever felt before. He felt powerful, and far stronger than ever before in his life. Vader felt like he could do anything, like nothing could stop him, as long as he gave himself to the Dark Side of the Force. His fears and doubts seemed to have disappeared completely, as soon as he had allowed himself to be overwhelmed with the addicting sense of power and strength, that the Dark Side gave him.

Taking a few long and deep breaths, the human Sith Lord basked in the darkness. His thoughts about his former Jedi brothers and sisters were gone, the young man viewing them as only his enemies now; enemies that needed to be dealt with. Without even realizing it, he had also not thought about his lover Ahsoka for a few moments either, something that he would never been able to do otherwise, if not for the darkness overcoming his fears, doubts and emotions.

After a moment, the Dark Lord of the Sith regained his focus, and proceeded to walk further in to the data rooms. Without even looking down, the human man walked over the corpse of Master Jocasta Nu. Vader knew what he had to do, the mission he still needed to complete for his Sith Master. Although he would no doubt remember the true purpose he had for joining the Sith; his desire to ensure the safety of his lover, Lord Vader for now could not think of anything else, other than his new duties for the Sith, and the completion of his mission to sabotage the Jedi signal beacon, which would lure even more Jedi to their deaths.

As the Dark Side had overcome the young man's fears, doubts and former allegiances, his entire former identity was being erased as well. Anakin Skywalker was no more, the dark presence of Darth Vader consuming the once prodigal member of the Jedi Order. The Chosen One of the Jedi was now only their chosen destroyer, set to eradicate their thousands of years old brotherhood. At least, if the young Sith Lord's new master, Darth Sidious, would have his way.

 **...**

The alarms aboard the Hapan Battle Dragon, the Song of War were going haywire, as the ship's onboard fire extinguisher systems could barely keep the raging fires under control. Approaching the Hapan Queen Mother's personal meditation chamber aboard the ship, the young Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam coughed heavily, as she made her way through the smoky corridors leading up to the chamber. The young human female could see bodies all over the floors, most of the hapans having died from explosions, or having suffocated to the smoke.

Arriving to the doors that would lead into the meditation chamber, Kriza coughed violently again, her eyes watering up from all the smoke. She had to rely on the use of the Force to guide her forward, as the thick smoke made it hard to see anything. As she walked up to the doors, the young girl grinded her teeth together, using the Force to move the doors aside, opening up the pathway to the mediation chamber, where she could feel the Hapan Queen Mother's life force residing in.

Entering the chamber, Kriza could soon sight Ta'a Chume lying on the floor, being pinned down under some rubble. The young human could see that the hapan woman was still alive, but unconscious and injured, a trail of blood streaming down her forehead, as she had apparently been hit in the head by the falling rubble.

Biting her lip, Kriza quickly walked over to the downed Queen Mother, looking around quickly, making sure that there weren't any other rubble in danger of falling on top of them. She then took a few deep breaths, trying to concentrate, though finding it difficult with the Song of War going down in flames all around her. Hastily calling upon the Force, the Jedi Padawan closed her eyes, and began to move the rubble over the Queen Mother away and off of her.

The pieces of large rubble slowly moved off the Queen Mother's body, the young Jedi levitating them away. Clenching her teeth together, and feeling sweat roll down her forehead, Kriza managed to drop the pieces of rubble a few meters away from Ta'a Chume, letting out a long exhale afterwards, as in her already weakened state, moving heavy objects with the Force was more than a little difficult.

After successfully moving the rubble aside, Kriza immediately crouched down next to the Queen Mother, reaching out with her hands, and grabbing on to the hapan woman. Taking a few deep breaths, the young Jedi then groaned quietly, as she used all of her physical strength to pull Ta'a Chume's unconscious body. She panted slightly, moving backwards and pulling the hapan's body behind her, trying to make her way out of the meditation chamber. With the warship crumbling all around her, Kriza was more than a little worried about her chances of survival.

As soon as the young human get to the doorway, pulling the Queen Mother behind her, Kriza's Force amplified sensed picked up something approaching them. Biting her lip, she could feel that there was another living being making its way towards them. A few seconds later, she could hear a male voice, violently coughing, and footsteps approaching her and the Queen Mother.

"Halt! Let go of her!" A raspy, yet powerful voice commanded, stopping the young woman at her heels. Kriza breathed heavily, and turned around, seeing the hapan admiral and captain of the Song of War, Terlan Je'Kyll, pointing a pistol at her, his hands shaking, as the man coughed from all the smoke and carbon monoxide. Kriza didn't let go of the Hapan Queen Mother, instead keeping a hold of her.

"Listen.. we need to get off this ship! We have no time to argue; she needs medical attention!" The young woman shouted back at the hapan man, whose entire body was shaking. Kriza could tell that Je'Kyll had been injured recently, blood pouring down his forehead, having tarnished his elegant uniform.

"The Queen Mother allowed you to leave... why come back to save her..?" The Admiral asked, as the warship shook slightly around them, the bulkheads screeching loudly. The Song of War wouldn't hold together for long. Kriza frowned slightly, taking a deep breath before replying.

"Because I am a Jedi! And unlike some, I help those in need, no matter what! Now you can either help me get her to an escape pod, or we can all burn down with this ship!" She said loudly to the hapan man, angered by the fact that they were even arguing about this, when they were at danger of being killed inside the doomed vessel.

As the Admiral stared at the young Jedi Padawan, biting his lip, and deeply thinking about his options, Kriza sighed quietly, and continued to move the Queen Mother's body. Admiral Je'Kyll took a step towards her again, pointing the pistol at her head. Raising her eyebrows, the young Jedi clenched her teeth together, not able to believe that the stubborn admiral would deny her escape. After a moment of staring at her, the hapan man then suddenly let out a long sigh, and dropped his weapon on the floor.

"Okay.. give her to me." Je'Kyll said, which made the young woman sigh in relief. She was glad that the admiral saw reason, and decided to help her.

The larger and physically a lot stronger hapan man quickly walked up to Kriza and Ta'a Chume, crouching down and taking the Queen Mother to his hands, allowing the young Jedi to rest her arms, and regain her strength. Je'Kyll lifted his liege on his arms, and stood up again, coughing slightly as a bit of smoke went into his lungs.

"There are escape pods nearby. This way, follow me!" The Admiral said to Kriza, before quickly walking towards the direction of another corridor nearby. The young Padawan beside him bit her lip again, after which she followed him out of the immediate area, and towards a nearby escape pod section.

As the Hapan Royal Navy's flagship continued to go down in flames, the entire fleet under heavy attack from the Republic forces, Kriza and Je'Kyll moved the Queen Mother towards safety. The young Jedi Padawan knew that they didn't have much time, as the Song of War continued to be pounded by Republic cannons, ripping the Battle Dragon to shreds.

Kriza had no idea what would happen next; she was afraid and confused, her minding wandering off to the severe disturbance in the Force she had felt earlier. The young Padawan knew that something horrible had happened, and it chilled her spine to just think about all the terrible possibilities. One thing she did know was that whatever had happened, it had sent tremors and rifts through the Force on the magnitude that had not been felt for several millennia.

The prospect of something terrible happening to her Jedi family terrified the young woman, making her job of getting Ta'a Chume off the Song of War alive all the more difficult. The only thing she could do now was keep moving, and try to keep her mind occupied, and think about the things she had felt earlier at a later time. Kriza's and the Queen Mother's lives depended on her ability to keep her head cool, and her mind focused.

 **...**

The chirping and electronic sounds being emitted from the dozens of computer servers and data machines echoed inside the large, but quite cramped data room, located just next to the Third Hall of the Jedi Temple's massive Archives. The hundreds of individual server modules, as well as computers placed within the walls decorated the room, their flashing lights lighting up the dark room, though maintaining an atmospheric mood.

Standing over at a small control station, that accessed the Jedi beacon, Darth Vader silently worked on the computer, downloading a holographic message onto it, given to him by his Sith Master, Darth Sidious. The message was a forgery, urging all the surviving Jedi around the Galaxy to return to the Jedi Temple, by the order of the Jedi Council. In reality, it served as a lure to a deadly trap, as the Republic would post a battalion's worth of clone troopers into the Temple, after they'd take control of it first. All the returning Jedi would be gunned down on sight, the Sith controlled Republic determined to continue their ongoing destruction of the Jedi Order.

As the young Sith Lord finished downloading the holographic message into the beacon, ready to be sent across the Galaxy to all the Jedi, who'd be able to survive the initial stages of Order 66, he sighed quietly to himself, hearing the muffled gunshots, and the sounds of intense fighting going on in the halls outside of the data rooms. Vader was again feeling conflicted with himself, his killing of more than one of his former Jedi brothers and sisters already starting to haunt him.

After the message was saved on the computer, the Sith Lord proceeded to send it out, broadcasting it across the Galaxy, through the vast HoloNet, and secured networks designed for the Jedi to use for secure transmissions. After a few seconds, the message was broadcasted successfully, making the young human man bite his lip, and stroke his chin for a moment. He had no idea whether any Jedi would believe the message, nor did he exactly care. The only reason he had come to the Jedi Temple, was to seize their vast secret archives, in hopes of finding out more about the legendary Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis.

Before the young human man could do anything further, his senses picked up an approaching life form. Less than a second later, he could hear the sound of a lightsaber activating, and being thrown in the air. The sound of an approaching lightsaber, spinning through the air sparked the Sith Lord's Force amplified reflexes, as he swiftly ducked down, a green lightsaber blade flying above his head.

Immediately after the lightsaber flew over his head, Lord Vader had to quickly turn to his left, and stand up, noticing a female Jedi running straight at him, another green lightsaber ignited in her hand. The human female leaped in the air, spinning around, as she proceeded to perform a ferocious falling strike against the Dark Lord. With only a second to react, the Sith Lord activated his own lightsaber, and deflected the woman's attack.

Bouncing back, the human female landed on the floor, before she proceeded to further strike out against the former Jedi Master. For a few short moments the two dueled, Lord Vader slowly falling back, while deflecting and blocking the vicious attacks the female Jedi landed on him. After a moment, the two of them entered a short blade lock, which ended when Darth Vader used the Force to push the woman back several meters.

As the female slid across the floor, stopping around five meters away from him, Vader could finally properly take a look at her. He recognized the human female as being Jedi Knight _Serra Keto_ , widely known as the most prominent and skillful apprentice of the _Jedi_ _Battlemaster_ _Cin Drallig_. As beautiful as she was dangerous, Serra was known to be a ferocious warrior, mastering the art of dual-wielding lightsaber combat, Jar'Kai.

Serra was part of the historically significant Keto family. Thousands of years ago, the Keto family ruled over the planet of _Empress Teta_ , formerly known as _Koros Major_ , before being renamed after a legendary Empress, who unified the planet. Teta's two descendants, _Satal_ and _Aleema Keto_ , where infamously remembered as powerful Dark Side users, Aleema going as far as becoming a Sith Sorceress, as she and her cousin Satal created a secret Sith society, _Krath_.

After the Great Sith War, several millennia later, the Keto family had become a trusted ally of the Jedi Order, with many of their Force-sensitive members serving the knighthood as exemplar Jedi. Serra was part of the latest Jedi generation of the Keto family, determined to maintain her family's honor, and become a great Jedi, who would be remembered for years to come.

"You've made the biggest mistake of your life, Anakin.." The woman snarled quietly, frowning deeply, as she had her lightsaber in a tight grip. The newly proclaimed Sith Lord bit his lip, before letting out a scoff, as he stared at the Jedi Knight.

"Serra.. I should have known that Cin Drallig's greatest pupil would try to stop me. Where is your master, anyway? I haven't seen him around.." Vader replied snidely, though he did wonder where Master Drallig was currently. Drallig was one of the greatest Jedi battlers in the entire Order, and he more than likely would be leading the defense of the Temple, against the clone and Sith forces.

"You know I can handle myself, Skywalker. But in case you need reminding, I'll make sure that the last thing you see is my two lightsabers cutting apart your treacherous body!" The young woman declared defiantly, swinging her lightsaber once. Her former Jedi colleague scoffed again, shaking his head.

"Still as cocky as ever. Turn back now, and I won't come after you... but we both know how this will end, should you dare to challenge me, Serra..." Lord Vader said warningly, holding his blue bladed lightsaber tightly in his hands.

He knew that the young Jedi Knight would not back down, which is exactly why he humored a warning to her. As predicted, the human female gritted her teeth together, shaking her head.

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. There's only one thing I'll do to a traitor like you.." Serra replied, her eyes filled with anger over the former Jedi Master's change of allegiances.

Vader figured that she had witnessed his handiwork earlier, killing Master Jocasta Nu, and two other Jedi. Knowing that there was no alternative to fighting, Darth Vader swung his lightsaber once, preparing for a fatal duel with one of his former Jedi colleagues, and regular sparring mates.

"Alright then..." He answered nonchalantly, waiting for the woman to attack him. Serra frowned a bit deeper, taking a readying stance with her feet.

As the two stared at each other for a few seconds, the female Jedi suddenly reached out with her left hand, calling her second lightsaber hilt back using the Force. The hilt flew from across the room, right past Lord Vader's head, and right into Keto's left hand. She then smirked slightly, activating the second lightsaber, and quickly taking a stance appropriate for her dual-wielding lightsaber use.

Immediately afterwards, Serra lunged forward, spinning around quickly, her lightsabers swinging. She performed several quick strikes at Vader with both of her lightsabers, hitting the Sith Lord's blade time after time again. Darth Vader fell back slowly, having to put all his effort into deflecting the attacking Jedi's incoming strikes, though he didn't feel worried in the slightest. Vader knew Serra's tactics, as he had trained with her many times in the past, when he still was part of the Jedi Order.

Dodging under another attack, Vader took a jump back, as his female opponent missed, and hit one of the server walls beside him. The green lightsaber sliced the server components, destroying the machinery within. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Serra took a step back as well, recouping her focus and strength. The human Sith Lord took this as a chance to attack, swinging his lightsaber around twice, as he quickly moved on to strike at the young female.

The young Jedi Knight grinded her teeth together, having her turn now to deflect and block several vicious attacks from Lord Vader. After a few seconds of trading strikes and slash, the two entered a blade lock, each of them trying to physically push the other back. Due to his superior strength, Vader pushed Serra back, making her boots slide on the polished metallic floor. The human man pushed the woman against one of the server walls, clenching his teeth together as well, as he tried to break through her defense, and strike her down.

Pressed against the servers, the young human Jedi bit her lip, her breathing getting heavier and heavier. She looked around in slight panic, Vader pushing her more, her lightsaber blades nearing the woman's neck. Closing her eyes, Serra suddenly let out a desperate and angry groan, using her flexibility to her advantage, performing an athletic split with her legs. As if she disappeared to thin air right in front of his eyes, Vader nearly tripped, as his Jedi opponent moved down on the floor. Her legs in a split position, Serra quickly slashed at the Sith's feet, who had only a few milliseconds to react.

Vader pulled himself back, using the Force to push himself away from the Jedi Knight, who barely managed to grace his left leg with one of her lightsabers. Hissing in pain, the former Jedi Master frowned deeply, and gritted his teeth together, as Serra jumped back up on her feet, and quickly spun on her feet away from Vader. The young Jedi moves were like a dance, showcasing the woman's aptitude in fast-moving lightsaber combat.

Darth Vader groaned in anger and frustration, holding the burning wound on his leg for a short moment. The stinging pain only fueled his hatred and anger, making his hear beat faster, and his head be filled with more darkness. The human man huffed quietly, staring at his Jedi opponent, who slowly backed away, while swinging her lightsabers in preparation for another scuffle. Knowing that using his hatred and anger would make him stronger, the Sith Lord squeezed his left hand into a fist, feeling how rage built up inside of him.

Lashing out with all of his anger, Vader roared loudly, as he reached out towards Serra, arcing bolts of powerful electricity coming out of his fingertips, to both of their surprise. The young Jedi Knight's eyes widened, as she had to quickly place her lightsaber blades in front of her in a cross-like position, blocking the incoming Force lightning from harming her. The bolts of energy deflected from her lightsabers, and shot away at all directions, hitting the computers and server walls around her, causing all kinds of damage to them.

After a short moment of continuous hurling of lightning, Vader stopped, breathing heavily, as even he had not expected to be able to use Force lightning without any type of prior training. He could only guess that his momentary immersion deep in the Dark Side had allowed him to manifest powers he had previously only dreamed of having. The human Sith then returned his attention to the Jedi Knight, taking a deep breath.

Serra panted slightly as well, recuperating her focus after the sudden electricity attack. After a few seconds Lord Vader made his next move, once again charging at Keto, performing swift, yet powerful attacks at her, striking her two lightsaber blades with his own, trying to break her defenses. Serra was able to deflect the attacks easily, as she could feel the young Sith Lord's mind being quite unfocused. However, the sheer viciousness of Vader's attacks did take their toll on the young woman, as she had to fall back towards the exit of the data room.

The two combatants continued to duel, quickly moving out of the data room, and into the hallways beyond, that would lead into the Jedi Temple's central security station, and one of the "war rooms", from where the Jedi Council had overseen the battles and campaigns take place during the Clone War.

With each strike becoming more and more vicious, the two former brethren were determined to fight to the death. Serra was determined to punish the traitorous Jedi Master for his crimes against her Jedi brothers and sisters, and Lord Vader, consumed by the Dark Side, was determined to reach his goals, and let nothing stop him, especially his former Jedi allies. For the first time since joining the Sith, Vader did not hesitate putting his former Jedi friends to the sword. The only thing he cared about now was succeeding in his mission, regardless of what he'd have to do in order to reach that goal. Whether or not it was the Dark Side controlling his mind, Vader was now the Jedi's greatest threat, when only a few days ago he had still been their greatest hope, and the "Chosen One".

 **...**

The elevator doors to the Jedi High Council Chamber slid open, allowing the two Dark Acolytes, Barriss Offee and Sora Bulq to enter. The two Dark Side users walked into the darkened chamber, which seemed quite derelict. The smoke rising from the countless fires both in and outside of the Jedi Temple blocked the view from the spire's windows for the most part, increasing the darkness inside the chambers.

As they walked near the center of the Council Chamber, Barriss could sense the presence of several Force-sensitive beings nearby. Bulq could feel it as well, his eyes scanning the room. After a few seconds, a young human boy, around the age of thirteen, emerged from behind one of the Jedi Council members' seats. Barriss' eyes widened, as she recognized the boy from being a young Jedi Initiate named _Petro_ , from the planet of Corellia. As Petro took a few steps towards the two Dark Acolytes, they could then spot several more Jedi Initiates, most only being young children, hiding behind the seats.

"Masters, there are too many of them.. we had to hide here." The boy explained, as more of the children he was protecting emerged from their cover. Barriss could tell that Petro had taken it upon himself to keep his younger Jedi brethren safe, although being young as well.

As the young human boy took a closer look at the two adults in front of him, whom he assumed being Jedi Masters, likely being able to feel their Force-sensitivity. Squinting his eyes slightly, as it was hard to see in the dark, Petro's expression suddenly changed drastically, as he stared at Barriss. His eyes widening, the young boy backed away a few steps, and grabbed his lightsaber, activating its blue blade.

"Kids, stay behind me!" He shouted, holding his lightsaber close to his face, in a readying Form I stance.

Barriss' heart jumped to her throat, as she could tell that the young boy had recognized her, and remembered her treachery to the Jedi Order. The young mirialan woman found herself frozen, not sure about what she should be doing. The weequay Dark Acolyte next to her let out a simple grunt.

"Well, if you're not gonna do it, I will.." Bulq said in a nonchalant, yet quite menacing tone, before he swiftly activated his red lightsaber. Petro clenched his teeth together, breathing heavily as the considerably larger weequay man took a step towards him. The children around the room took cover behind the seats again, their little bodies shaking from fear.

As Barriss could only watch, Bulq lunged at Petro, who desperately put up a fight, successfully deflecting the weequay's first two attacks. However, as Bulq began to use his skills in Vapaad, the young and inexperienced boy was quickly overwhelmed, as he was pushed back a few meters. After a short moment of a one-sided duel, Bulq managed to grace Petro's fingers, making him drop his lightsaber on the floor. The young boy could barely react to his injury, before the ruthless weequay man impaled him with his blade, killing him near instantly.

After Petro fell dead on the floor, the rest of the children around began to scream and cry in sheer terror. Bulq had only gotten started, after killing the younglings' protector, taking a deep breath, before proceeding to attack the defenseless children, who could do nothing but cower behind the Jedi Council's seats.

Barriss' heart rate only increased, as she watched how Bulq ruthlessly engaged the younglings, cutting down the screaming and crying children with no remorse. As the sounds of pure agony and fear filled the Council Chamber, the young mirialan woman bit her lip, and closed her eyes, turning her head away from the carnage. She had no idea why, but she could not bear to look at the young and innocent children being remorselessly slaughtered, despite her being a Dark Acolyte, who should not hold such feelings of empathy.

After a short moment, the sounds of crying and screams had stopped, with only the sound of Bulq's lightsaber crackling. Barriss slowly opened her eyes, and turned to look at the destruction inside the chamber. Breathing heavily, the weequay Dark Acolyte stood over the corpses of a dozen younglings, their bodies smoking from the several lightsaber wounds Bulq had cut into them, which had effectively killed them. Feeling sweat forming on her forehead, the young mirialan could only silently stare at the site of carnage, as her colleague simply walked up to her again, deactivating his lightsaber.

"Hesitating like that won't get you far, Barriss. What's the matter, girl? You were more than happy to slaughter the Separatist Council a little while back.." Bulq scolded, to which his mirialan companion swallowed quietly, before glancing at him for a quick moment.

"Just thought I should give you this one, Bulq... you seemed to enjoy yourself a bit too much, though.." Barriss replied to the man, who frowned slightly and scoffed, rolling his yellowish glowing eyes.

"Uh-huh, whatever you say. Come on... we still have our precious former home to take over.." He answered, walking past the mirialan woman, and heading back towards the elevator, leaving behind him the carnage he had caused. Barriss squeezed her hands slightly, biting her tongue. She hated working with Bulq, but had to endure it, no matter how insufferable of an idea it was.

"Yes.. indeed..." The young woman replied quietly, before allowing herself to give a quick glance around the Council Chamber, looking at all the killed Jedi younglings lying dead on the stained floor.

Barriss felt uncomfortable, seeing the bodies of so many younglings. She had never thought about witnessing such remorseless slaughter of her former Jedi brothers and sisters, even though she had always known that her new Sith allies would stop at nothing, in order to destroy their ancient enemies in the Jedi Order, once and for all. But despite all of that, the young mirialan had not expected this, and it filled her with uncertainty.

After a short moment, she sighed quietly to herself, before turning around, and making her way to the elevator, where Bulq was waiting for her. Barriss stepped inside the lift, after which her weequay colleague closed the doors, after which the elevator began to move down. The young woman could tell that her rival and partner did not trust her, which was a feeling she more than gladly shared with him. She knew that this temporary alliance of theirs would end with only one of them standing alive, while the other would rot in eternal damnation.

Barriss had little to no loyalties to her Sith Master or their Order anymore in general, yet the last thing she wanted was to allow Bulq to rise up in the ranks of the brotherhood. She was determined to kill the weequay, no matter what. Whether or not she'd stay with the Sith afterwards was something that she was also determined to figure out in the near future. But the most important thing for her was to play along, and give the illusion to her allies that she was still dependable, and trustworthy.

 **...**

The alarms aboard the Hapan Battle Dragon, Song of War rung all across the burning ship, echoing along the abandoned and badly damaged hallways. Most of the ship's crew had already escaped, or perished in the countless of fires and hull breaches all around the doomed Hapan Royal Navy's flagship.

In one of the escape pod sections, the young Jedi Padawan Kriza Willsaam, accompanied by the Song of War's commanding officer, Admiral Je'Kyll, who was carrying the unconscious and gravely injured Queen Mother, made their way towards the nearby escape pods as quick as they could, amidst all the destruction and chaos.

The young human girl coughed violently, as the escape pod room was filled with noxious smoke, as was most of the ship at this point. Kriza quickly looked around, as she stopped in front of the entrance to one of the escape pods. The young girl bit her lip, looking for a control panel nearby, that would open the hatch to the pod.

Spotting the control console nearby, Kriza quickly stepped over to it, and tightly grabbed the lever to open the hatch to the escape pod. The warship then shook violently again, its bulkheads creaking loudly, ready to break apart at any minute. As the escape pod's hatch opened, revealing the small but safe escape vehicle's interior, Admiral Je'Kyll walked over to the entrance, carrying his liege's unmoving body.

"Let's hurry... I fear that our revered Queen Mother won't have long; her injuries are grave.." The hapan man explained, as he slowly began to stuff himself and Ta'a Chume inside the escape pod, finding it a bit difficult to fit, as he had to carry the Queen Mother around. Kriza sighed slightly, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah.. let's get inside and get as far away from the battle as possible. The Republic might pick up survivors as prisoners of war afterwards." She noted, knowing that at least in her experience during the Clone War, Republic forces often times showed mercy to surrendering Separatist forces. As she entered the escape pod after Je'Kyll, the hapan man scoffed quietly.

"That's not the Republic I know..." He simply remarked, sounding his prejudice against the government the young Jedi Padawan so faithfully served.

Kriza didn't pay attention the man's attitude, and simply sat down on one of the seats inside the pod, putting on safety harnesses. Je'Kyll gracefully placed down Ta'a Chume's unconscious body on the seat opposite of Kriza, putting on her safety harnesses as well, holding her safely tugged in. The battle weary man sighed in relief, after which he quickly turned towards the pod's control dashboard, sitting down on the pilot's seat.

The Admiral quickly turned on the escape pod's systems, his fingers working fast on the holographic, as well as physical dashboard, pushing dozens of buttons in preparation of launching the pod. After a few moments, the man groaned in frustration, slamming his fist on the dashboard. Kriza raised her eyebrows, looking at him in confusion.

"Damn it! The launch controls are damaged... I'm unable to launch the pod from here.." The man explained, sighing deeply, and shaking his head. The young Jedi Padawan near him bit her lip, her anxiousness increasing.

"So.. we can't escape the ship...?" Kriza asked, hoping that there'd be some solution to this. She had no wishes of dying aboard a burning ship, or in the vacuum of space. Admiral Je'Kyll looked around for a moment, before sighing deeply again in a saddened tone.

"No... you and my Queen will escape.. but I won't..." He explained, before suddenly standing up from his seat, and making his way out of the escape pod. Kriza's eyes widened, as she tried to leave her harnessed seat.

"What!? Admiral, what are you doing?" The young Jedi asked, not liking the way the hapan man was talking. While she had no fond feelings for the bigoted admiral, Kriza still didn't wish to see him die, or give his life for hers.

"Making sure that the Queen Mother escapes! Long ago I made an oath to protect my Queen's life, no matter what, and give my life for hers, should the need arise. Each and every hapan is ready to do the ultimate sacrifice, if it ensures her survival..." The Admiral explained, as he stepped out of the escape pod, and back into the burning Song of War. Kriza bit her lip harder, not knowing what to say. The hapan man sighed quietly, giving the unconscious Ta'a Chume a long glance.

"It seems that we're not that different after all, Jedi. You're ready to give your life to save someone innocent, and for the greater good. Well... so am I, and this is my way of doing it.." Je'Kyll remarked, as he then stared into the young Padawan's eyes for a moment.

"You're all she has now, young lady Willsaam. Keep her safe... that's all I can ask.." He continued, making the young human woman silently turn her head towards the unconscious Queen Mother. Kriza sighed quietly to herself, knowing that it was her duty to keep Ta'a Chume alive, no matter how cruel and ruthless of a person she had been for a long time.

After a short moment, Admiral Je'Kyll took a deep breath, before giving Kriza a small salute with his fingers, his other hand moving to the escape pod's control panel, next to the actual pod.

"Eteral shakel roth!" The hapan man shouted in determination, which Kriza assumed being a hapan war cry, or something similar.

In the next second, Je'Kyll grabbed the lever on the control panel, turning it swiftly. The escape pod's hatch shut, sealing the vehicle tightly. Immediately afterwards, the pod's engines came to life, after which it was launched out of the Song of War, heavily jerking Kriza and the Queen Mother around in their harnesses for a short moment.

The young Jedi Padawan held tightly to her safety harnesses, as the escape pod flew away from the Hapan Royal Navy's flagship, flying through the chaotic battlefield above Onderon's orbit. Kriza quickly glanced out of the small window on the back of the escape pod, seeing the dozens of Hapan warships under heavy fire from the Republic fleet. A burning wreck of a Nova-class battle cruiser plummeted down towards the Song of War, colliding with the ship, resulting in a bright and massive explosion, which utterly obliterated both ships.

Kriza bit her lip again, feeling saddened by the fact that Admiral Je'Kyll had sacrificed himself, though also relieved that she had escaped alive from the doomed flagship. And it seemed that she and Ta'a Chume were saved just in time before the Song of War was destroyed, giving the young Padawan even more reason to be grateful for Admiral Je'Kyll's sacrifice.

As she continued to look outside of the window, the fierce battle falling further and further behind the escape pod, the young woman could see how the entire Hapan Royal Navy faced utter destruction at the hands of the vastly more advanced Republic fleet. The numerous star destroyers and cruisers pounded the damaged Hapan warships, ripping them to shreds with their powerful turbolasers. The Republic fighters made quick work of the now unmotivated and shaken Hapan forces, destroying their bombers and fighters as fast as a bug zapper on a summery night on the southern regions of Kriza's homeplanet of Alderaan.

Sighing again, the young woman turned away from looking at the battle, and returned her attention to the unconscious Queen Mother. She then moved her hands to disengage the safety harnesses, lifting them up. The young woman quickly stood up, and checked up on Ta'a Chume's injuries. She could tell that the hapan woman's state was getting worse, and that she'd need medical attention fast, or else all hope for her survival would be lost. Kriza was not especially skilled in Force healing, so she had no way of helping the Queen Mother herself.

Turning away from Ta'a Chume, Kriza quickly sat down on the escape pod's pilot's seat. She took the pod's controls, and steered the vehicle further away from the ongoing battle, increasing the engines' power to get away from all the death and destruction even faster. The young woman sighed in relief again, as she had escaped from certain death. Her future was uncertain still, but Kriza was determined to keep going and make sure that she'd fight until the end.

The staggering disturbance in the Force she had felt earlier certainly only made the young girl even more worried about her future, and the safety of all her friends in the Jedi Order. But knowing that fear and despair would lead to the Dark Side, Kriza forced herself to not dwell on these matters, as she had more pressing issues at hand. She was now the only person who could keep Ta'a Chume alive, and no matter her negative feelings about the Queen Mother, the young Padawan knew that it was her duty to keep her safe. As a principled and faithful Jedi, she could not be picky about the people she'd help, as all living beings were worthy of second chances in the eyes of the all-binding Force, and the ever expanding universe.

 **...**

The lights coming out one of the Jedi Temple's hangar bay were among the only sources of light on the ancient temple in flames. Thick statues of smoke surrounded the extended landing pad of the hangar area, being one of the only sections of the Jedi Temple mostly unscathed by the clone offensive.

A red-colored luxury _XJ-2_ airspeeder flew through the thick smoke, descending towards the landing pad with great speeds. The speeder was piloted by the Galactic Senator of Alderaan, Bail Organa. The human senator was breaking several laws, rules and curfews, as he made his way to the Jedi Temple, despite the Republic having issued the area surrounding the temple a "no-fly zone". The experienced politician did not care however, as he was determined find out just why the Jedi Temple was being attacked.

After he landed his airspeeder on the landing pad, Senator Organa quickly looked around, seeing that there were no more Republic gunships flying around, and firing their cannons or missiles at the Jedi Temple. He could however spot several patrol craft slowly moving around the Temple's outer premises, searching the area with their spotlights, assumingly attempting to locate any Jedi. The human senator had a bad feeling about this, more so than before.

As he jumped out of the airspeeder, leaving its engines on standby, in case he'd have to quickly leave, Bail's boots touched down on the floor of the landing pad. He looked in front of him, and was able to spot over a dozen armed soldiers in the near vicinity. Taking a deep breath, the human man then started to walk down the extended pad, heading towards the entrance to the Jedi Temple's hangar bay.

The soldiers ahead had noticed him, and were now approaching Bail, as he kept on walking. He could quickly notice that many of the soldiers were chiss commandos, donned in light combat armor, and armed with advanced blaster carbines. There were a few clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard among them as well. The senator from Alderaan found it more than a little odd to see chiss here.

As he got closer to the chiss, the senator could see that one of the soldiers was the highly respected Admiral Thrawn of the Chiss Ascendancy's military. The chiss admiral was wearing light armoring on top of his regular uniform, making him ready for battle as well. The chiss man seemed to recognize the senator walking towards him and his men.

"Senator Organa." Admiral Thrawn greeted, as Bail got to him. The human senator bit his lip quickly, as he motioned towards the burning Jedi Temple.

"What's going on here?!" He asked in hasty tone, feeling how his heartbeat fastened. The intimidating chiss admiral had an uncomfortably calm expression on his face, which only increased Senator Organa's worries.

"There has been a rebellion, sir. But don't worry.. we have the situation under control." Thrawn explained in a calm manner, which caused the senator in front of him to frown deeply.

"Rebellion? That is absurd... I need to see the Jedi Council immediately.." Bail answered, as he then attempted to move past the chiss forces. To his surprise, the soldiers behind Thrawn raised their weapons at him, blocking his access. Raising his eyebrows, the human man glanced at the chiss admiral, who had a devious smile on his face.

"For your own safety, Senator.. it'd be best for you to leave now..." The Admiral stated with a slight smirk, as the soldiers behind him kept on aiming at the human senator.

Bail's heart was pounding in his chest. He could now see that the Republic was truly moving out against their oldest allies, the Jedi, with extreme prejudice. He couldn't believe it had come to this, feeling the entire situation being completely absurd and unthinkable. Knowing that he would be shot for treason, if he were to force his way in, the human man swallowed quietly, as he slowly nodded his head.

"And so it is.." He lamented quietly, knowing that he'd have to leave, or else his life would be in more danger. The human senator then slowly turned around, and began to walk back to his airspeeder, as the chiss and clone soldiers stayed behind to guard the landing pad, still having their blasters aimed at the senator's back.

As Bail was nearing his airspeeder, he could suddenly hear loud noises coming from behind him. The distinct sound of a lightsaber activating caught his attention, as he quickly turned around to see a young Jedi Padawan jumping up in the air, leaping over several clone troopers.

"Look out!" One of the clones shouted, as the Jedi flew over them. Bail's eyes widened, as he could see that the young human Jedi was no more than 13-years old, as the boy landed right behind one of the chiss soldiers near Thrawn.

The young human boy swiftly swung his lightsaber upwards, cutting down a clone trooper, before moving on to a chiss soldier, cutting him down as well with a swing of his blue bladed lightsaber. As the soldiers opened fire on the young Padawan, Senator Organa fell back to his airspeeder, taking cover as several stray blaster bolts nearly hit him. The human senator watched in shock as the clones and chiss soldiers fired upon the young boy.

The Jedi Padawan then attempted to strike down Admiral Thrawn, who was directly in the way of the young human. One of the admiral's loyal soldiers however suddenly threw himself in front of the superior officer, as the young Jedi performed a powerful strike, cutting a deep and lengthy wound in the chiss soldier, fell on top of Thrawn, causing him to fall on the floor as well. The young boy then proceeded to sprint towards Bail and his airspeeder, as the soldiers falling behind him kept shooting wildly at the Padawan, trying their hardest to hit him.

As the young Jedi got closer to Senator Organa, and his escape vehicle, Admiral Thrawn managed to push his dead subordinate's body off of him. The chiss officer immediately got up to one knee, and grabbed his blaster carbine, aiming down his sights and targeting the escaping Jedi. Without hesitation, the chiss admiral pulled the trigger, shooting a well placed shot at the young boy, which hit him on the back of his neck.

The young Jedi Padawan's body jumped slightly, as he then collapsed on the floor, the single shot from Admiral Thrawn's weapon being enough to kill him instantly. Senator Organa's eyes widened, and his heart jumped to his throat, as he witnessed the small boy's dead body fall on the cold floor.

"NO!" Bail shouted in sheer shock and terror, wasting no time to climb aboard his airspeeder, and get on the pilot's seat. The panicking human man took the speeder's controls, determined to get away from the Jedi Temple as soon as possible.

As the human senator proceeded to fly his speeder off the landing pad, several chiss and clone troopers fired upon the fleeing vehicle. Admiral Thrawn however lifted his hand up, stopping the troopers from sustaining their fire.

"Cease fire! The senator's no threat to us.. let him go!" He ordered, as his subordinates stopped firing. The soldiers then resumed their earlier duties of guarding the landing pad area, though some of them made their way to the now dead Jedi Padawan, checking the body to see whether the young boy had survived.

Admiral Thrawn in the meanwhile kept staring at the fleeing airspeeder of Senator Organa, a faint smirk forming on his blue face. The chiss officer knew that the prestigious senator witnessing the true nature of the Republic's mission against the Jedi Temple could cause slight outrage at the Senate. However, he also knew that the Supreme Chancellor, secretly a Dark Lord of the Sith, would soon bring his Grand Plan to its completion, by transforming the Republic into something completely different, and subjugating the Senate to his complete will. Because of this, Thrawn was not worried about letting Organa escape.

Flying his airspeeder away from the Jedi Temple's premises as fast as he could, Bail panted heavily, feeling how his entire forehead was covered in cold sweat. He couldn't quite come to terms about what he had just witnessed. Seeing clones and armed soldiers ruthlessly gunning down a young boy was something he had never wished to see in his entire life.

The senator of Alderaan breathed heavily, trying to calm himself, as he steered his speeder towards the Republic Executive Building, where one of his personal starships would be docked at. Bail could see that the Republic had fallen to darkness, and he was determined to venture out and seek any and all Jedi, who could have survived the Republic's sudden aggressive onslaught against them. He had no idea what exactly the Republic's forces had already done to the Jedi leading clone armies around the Galaxy, but seeing the state of the Jedi Temple, he feared the worst.

However, despite of that, he needed to leave Coruscant, and try to find as many Jedi as he could. No matter his loyalties to the Republic, above all, Bail felt that the Jedi were his true allies, and he would go to any lengths to preserve their ancient and sacred order. And if the Republic would turn against their oldest allies in such an outrageous way, the human senator felt that the Republic he once swore to serve loyally as the representative of Alderaan, had now ceased to exist. He would never serve a Republic that stabs its oldest allies in the back like this, and condones the ruthless killing of children and other innocents.

 **...**

The crackling sounds of lightsaber blades clashing against one another echoed in the hallway leading to the Jedi Temple communication center, located inside the _Jedi Command_ section of the building, near the data rooms where the Order's most well guarded files and servers were kept. The Temple's central security station was nearby as well. Nearing the entranceway to the communication center's briefing room, the former allies Serra Keto, and the Sith Lord Darth Vader dueled fiercely, as they approached the doorway.

The human man viciously kept striking at his Jedi opponent, who had been falling back constantly, ever since causing the Sith Lord to fall into a fit of primal rage. The young woman kept blocking the former Jedi Master's attacks for a few seconds, before she managed to leap backwards, making the Sith Lord nearly stumble, as his powerful swing missed her.

Serra took this as an opportunity to fall back, and catch her breath. The young human female performed a long back flip, leaping into the briefing room, and landing at the bottom of the short flight of stairs, that lead into the main briefing area, the large holographic projector and table laying at the center of the circular room.

As the Jedi Knight took a few deep breaths, regaining her composure and focus, Lord Vader slowly walked up to the doorway, standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at the human female with an emotionless expression. The Sith Lord looked like a completely different person to Serra, as she could not even recognize the former Anakin Skywalker in him. It was like the Dark Side had erased the man's former identity as a Jedi, and replaced it with something completely else, something dark and twisted.

"What happened, Anakin? What was it that convinced you to turn against us!? Was it power, influence, or something even more trivial?" Serra asked, breathing slightly heavy, and waving her hair to the side, from the front of her face. The human man at the top of the stairs frowned deeply, shaking his head slowly.

"You could never understand my reasons, Serra. The Jedi would have only continued to take everything that is dear to me. I will no longer sit in silence and let the Order ruin my life!" Vader shouted in response, anger and hatred clear on his voice. Although he had still doubted his actions when arriving to the Temple, the newly proclaimed Dark Lord of the Sith was now completely immersed in the Dark Side of the Force, no longer held back by his loyalties and sense of morality. His Jedi opponent sighed, biting her lip and shaking her head as well.

"You've fallen beyond redemption, Anakin. The Jedi Order will never fall to the Sith, or the likes of you.. no matter what you do to us, we will endure!" She replied in defiance, holding strong against the Dark Lord to the bitter end. Darth Vader simply scoffed at his former colleague's determination, swinging his lightsaber once as he prepared to attack her again.

"Even if the rest of the Order endures, you won't be among them.." He announced quietly, his voice low and menacing. With another swung, the Sith Lord brought his lightsaber to a readying Form V stance, as the young Jedi Knight in front of him took a deep breath, and also adopted a preparing stance with her body and feet, holding her lightsabers in a form appropriate for Jar'Kai.

The human Sith Lord then jumped up in the air, leaping towards the young Jedi Knight and swinging his lightsaber at her. Serra brought her lightsaber blades in front of her in a cross formation, blocking Lord Vader's heavy attack, as the man landed on the floor. The human female was pushed back against the holographic projector table, as the Sith Lord used all his might to try to overpower her.

Finding herself in the same position as she had been in the data room, Serra looked around quickly, trying to think of a way out of this. Not being able to think of anything else, the young woman used all of her physical strength to push back at Darth Vader, trying to get him off of her, and stop him from overpowering her and striking her down.

Clenching her teeth together, the young woman groaned audibly, as she managed to slowly push Vader back, who too had to put in more and more effort into pushing back his opponent as well. Using all of her available strength, Serra was able to push the Sith Lord away, making him stagger back.

As Vader groaned in frustration, regaining his composure, the young woman had only a few seconds to catch her breath, before launching her own offensive against the Dark Lord of the Sith. Striking the human man's blade with her two lightsabers, Serra attempted to inflict another wound on Vader by hitting him with a series of quick strikes. She hoped that it would slow the Sith Lord down enough for her to have a better chance against him.

After forcing the Sith to take a few steps back, by relentlessly striking him with fast strikes, the young Jedi Knight began to exhaust herself. Vader was able to block or dodge each of her attack, while slowly backing away. Serra wasn't able to inflict any hits on the Sith Lord's body, however, which made her try harder, and exhaust herself faster. Vader could see through her strategies, having sparred with her plenty of times before. The young man knew that he'd only need to keep defending himself, until his opponent would be too tired to properly fend off a surprise attack.

Just as he had expected, after a few moments of intense dueling, Serra seemed to reach her exhaustion point. The young woman panted, sweat rolling down her forehead, as her strikes weakened after each attack. The Sith Lord saw that his chance had come, and swiftly jumped back, causing his Jedi opponent to nearly trip, as her attacks missed, just as she had done to him earlier. Serra was tired and unfocused, the tables of the duel having completely turned now.

As Serra attempted to back away, knowing that she was now exposed, Lord Vader took an advantage of the situation, and viciously attacked her, performing a powerful slash. The young Jedi Knight was forced to attempt to defend herself, putting the lightsaber in her left hand in front of her to block the Sith's strike. The lightsaber was thrown out of her hand, as the force of the blow was too much for her tired grip to handle. The young woman gasped slightly, as she then quickly swung at Vader with her other lightsaber, missing the man as he effortlessly dodged the strike.

Her side now exposed, Serra had no defense against the ruthless Sith Lord, as he quickly swung his lightsaber around once, before lunging at the young woman, and impaling her with his lightsaber. The blue blade skewered Serra from her side, causing her to gasp loudly in pain. She dropped her lightsaber on the floor, as Lord Vader pulled his lightsaber blade out of her.

Breathing heavily, the mortally wounded Jedi Knight slowly leaned against the holographic projector, sitting down on the floor. She looked up at the Sith Lord who stood over her like a dark shadow. The human man silently stared at her, his blue eyes having changed color to a glowing yellow, as he deeply frowned. Serra shook her head slowly, her expression sad and disappointed.

"Why, Anakin? Why...?" She whispered, breathing heavily, as she grew weaker and weaker, the wound killing her slowly. The Sith Lord simply stared at her for a moment, before sighing quietly.

"Because I have to.." Lord Vader answered quietly, as he then swung his lightsaber around a few times. After that, the human man impaled the young woman again, his blade piercing her heart this time.

Serra's eyes widened, as she gasped again, though not being able to say anything. After the Sith Lord withdrew his lightsaber, deactivating the weapon, the young Jedi Knight leaned on the hologram projector again, her head falling back slightly, as she let out her last breath. Her pupils dilated, as she died from her wounds.

Immediately after Serra had died, Lord Vader let out a long sigh, as his eyes returned to their normal color in a few moments. The human man put away his lightsaber, placing it on his belt, as he took a moment to himself to catch his breath, and recuperate from the intense duel. He could still hear the muffled sounds of gunfire coming from the sections of the Jedi Temple some distance away. The clone forces were starting to finish off the Jedi defenders, their ancient temple falling to the Republic sooner rather than later.

After recovering his focus, the young Sith Lord looked around for a second, making his mind up with where he would head to next. He had now killed six Jedi, his former friends and allies, people he had grown up with. In his pursuit of saving the ones he loved, the young man had fallen down a dark path, one which had no clear way back to redemption. The Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker had truly become one with the Dark Side now, whether he had intended it or not. The darkness had engulfed him, consumed his very being, and set him on a path of destruction.

Despite his noble goal of saving the life of his lover, Anakin had become the very thing he had sworn to fight a long time ago. He had become the thing he had for so many years wanted to avoid at all costs. Even though he had not wanted it, the power of the Dark Side had taken a strong hold of him, and it would not let go. The anger and frustrations the young Jedi Master had held for so many years were the perfect fuel for the darkness to get an even stronger foothold in his very being. Because of it all, Darth Vader had taken over Anakin Skywalker completely, erasing every piece of his former self. He was a Sith, and would only grow in power as time went along, and become even more ruthless and vicious.

 **...**

Dust particles were clearly visible in the air of the ancient tomb of Darth Nox, on the togruta homeworld of Shili. The dathomirian mercenary and former Dark Acolyte, Asajj Ventress leaned against one of the tomb's inner sanctum's walls, staring at the particles, as she could feel how the stuffy air filled her lungs. Near her sitting down on a meditation pad was her former rival and current friend, Ahsoka Tano, who had arrived to her homeworld to seek out the spirit of her ancestor, who happened to be an ancient former Sith Lord.

Ahsoka sat quietly on the meditation pad, having listened to her ancestor talk for longer than she could imagine, at least a few hours, as the human man's spirit had explained to her in detail all of the basics of being a Force Walker, and the binding of restless spirits to one's will. The young togruta girl felt that such power was wicked, an ethically problematic, yet she knew that in order to face the dark powers that were consuming the Galaxy, she'd need every advantage she could get, so that she could better fight against said darkness.

"While you can also make deals with the spirits that you bind, allowing them to come to your service willingly, it's always good to remember that those spirits could try to trick you. Sith are devious and most will try to find an advantage in their situation, even after death.." Kallig explained, having his ethereal arms behind his back. As Ahsoka continued to listen to him, Ventress scoffed quietly nearby, having her arms folded.

"Does that include you?" She asked the spirit, still not convinced about his motives. The ghost of a human man raised his eyebrows slightly, before letting out a quiet chuckle, as he glanced at Ventress.

"Now what would I gain by tricking my own descendant, rattataki? My only interests are to help my own flesh and blood to gain power, and survive against the coming hardships she'll face.." The spirit explained to the pale woman, who frowned again, and sighed under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not a blasted rattataki..." The dathomirian mumbled quietly to herself in annoyance. As Kallig returned his attention to Ahsoka, the young girl bit her lip, having memorized everything her ancestor had taught her.

"Are you ready to see if you have what it takes to be a Force Walker, Ahsoka?" He asked, placing his arms behind his back again. Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat, as she had no idea if she could pull this off. Swallowing quickly, she then nodded.

"I.. I'm willing to try." The young togruta answered, wanting to learn how to bind the spirits of the dead, and become a Force Walker. Her ancestor smiled as a response, nodding as well.

"Very good. Now.. get up and prepare.." Kallig announced, as his glowing body walked a few steps towards the young girl, who got up from the meditation pad.

Ahsoka took a deep breath, as she stood up, and moved away from the seating. Ventress bit her lip, as she silently looked on as her friend's spirit came closer to her. The voss healer and Force user Tana-Rey meanwhile stood nearby as well, though she was overlooking the situation with more of a fascinated expression, than a worried one. The small astromech droid R2-D2 was nearby as well, chirping quietly to himself.

"Okay.. I'm ready." The young togruta assured, as she took a few long inhales. Ahsoka's ancestor smiled further, and nodded again, as he stood before her.

"Good. Now... reach out to me, and call upon the Force to bind me. Imagine myself being part of you.. imagine that my spirit is tightly intertwined with yours.." Kallig further explained, helping his descendant get started with the binding process. Ahsoka took a few deep breaths again, before she then silently nodded, and closed her eyes.

She then lifted her arms slightly, reaching out to Kallig's spirit, as if she was attempting to grab him by the use of the Force. Clenching her teeth together, the young girl began to immerse herself with the Force, putting all her effort into thinking about the spirit in front of her, and how she'd bind his power and energy to her will.

As she togruta began to breathe heavier, sweat forming around her forehead, the ancient Sith Lord's spirit suddenly was lifted a few feet into the air. Kallig had a surprised expression on his face for a second or two, before a slight smirk appeared on his lips.

"Yes! Just like that, child... focus!" The bearded man instructed, as his descendant struggled to continue, her legs already shaking slightly.

Ahsoka grinded her teeth together harder, feeling how her connection to the Force wasn't powerful enough to correctly bind the spirit of her ancestor. Seeing her struggle, Ventress took a few steps towards her friend, feeling worried about her. Kallig could also see that her descendant was not succeeding.

"Focus, Ahsoka! Use your emotions to your advantage! Let them be free!" He urged the young girl, who breathed heavily, and nodded quickly, trying her best to keep her focus.

Ahsoka let go of her fears of allowing her emotions to control her. For years she had been taught by the Jedi to avoid attachments and emotions, but now, she needed them to survive. Centering all of her focus into Anakin, and her love for him, she was able to fully immerse herself with the Force, her true potential finally beginning to come out of its shell.

As she used her emotions and feelings to strengthen her Force powers, she was suddenly lifted a few feet into the air herself, much to her and Ventress' surprise. Before Ahsoka could react much, Kallig's spirit suddenly was pulled in towards her, the ethereal energy surrounding the ghost being absorbed by her body. In the following seconds, the entirety of the ancient Sith Lord's spirit entered Ahsoka's body, making her groan and grunt in pain.

As soon as Kallig had disappeared inside the young togruta, she began to violently twitch in the air. Ventress' eyes widened, as she sprung to action, sprinting toward her friend, who seemed like she was possessed. Ahsoka was clearly in pain, and unable to control her own movements.

"Ahsoka!" She screamed as she ran for her friend, who was still suspended in air, twitching and moving around erratically. Tana-Rey also made her way to her, slight worry now clear on her face as well.

The two of them could not do much, however, as Ahsoka continued to levitate above the ground, and act as if she was having a seizure. The young togruta gasped and moaned quietly, her eyes moving frantically, as she was completely unable to control her movements. After a short moment, her twitching suddenly stopped, as she let out one last gasp, before she then fell on the floor, losing her consciousness.

Ventress and Tana-Rey immediately crouched down over Ahsoka, trying to get her to wake up, as well as check on if she was injured. The two worried women had no idea what just had happened, but neither one of them was willing to wait and find out. After a few seconds of trying to shake the young girl awake, the dathomirian female could see that she was in a deep state of unconsciousness, her breathing steady, yet slightly weak.

Ahsoka had successfully bound Kallig's spirit, or at least allowed him to possess her body. With her losing her consciousness, the success of the ritual remained ambiguous at best. Ventress and Tana-Rey had no choice now but to hope for the best, and wait for their friend to wake up, and pray that she'd still be in control of her body and mind. As Ahsoka's ancestor had said so himself, Sith spirits were known to trick their way into possessing the bodies of mortals, which is exactly what Ventress now feared had happened. Still, she nor Tana-Rey would not know for certain, until they were able to get the young togruta to wake up. But everything would be up in the air until then, and the two of them, as well as R2, could do nothing else but wait.


	19. Chapter 18: Mistress of Death

**Chapter 18: Mistress of Death**

 **Two years, five months earlier...**

 _Ruusan_ ; an arid canyon-filled planet in the Mid Rim. Home to the ancient _Valley of the Jedi_ , the planet was famous for the many battles the Jedi and the Sith fought over it during the course of the _New Sith Wars_. After the conclusion of the war at the _Seventh Battle of Ruusan_ , the Galactic Republic had reformed completely, in an event that was named the _Ruusan Reformations_. It was the turning point of Galactic history, separating the modern timeline of the Republic, with the history and the legacy of the "Old Republic".

In the early months of the Clone Wars, General Grievous had operated a listening station on one of the moons of Ruusan. After following a trail of R2-D2 to the moon, as the astromech droid had been acquired by the Separatist in the aftermath of the Battle of Bothawui, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex had led a daring assault against the listening station, managing to rescue R2, as well as destroy the station.

A few months after losing the listening post, Separatist droid armies had taken control of the system, overrunning a small garrison of Republic militia, that watched over the ancient temples within the Valley of the Jedi. The Republic had responded near instantly to the invasion, sending General Skywalker, his Padawan Ahsoka and their 501st clone legion to finish the job they had started months back, and secure Ruusan for the Republic once and for all.

The Republic relief force had soon found itself bogged down in a nasty ground war, after easily defeating the Separatist fleet protecting Ruusan's orbit. The planet's deep and maze-like canyon formations made airstrikes ineffective, which forced the Jedi and their clone forces to battle the heavily hunkered down droid positions, making slow but steady progress. Ruusan's surface however made the usage of vehicles quite difficult as well, as even all-terrain walkers were slowed down by the apparent randomness of the canyons' surface.

As they had made their way across a narrow canyon range, General Skywalker's column of walkers and other armored vehicles had come under heavy attack by droid forces, that had lied in wait for them to walk right into an ambush. In the opening moments of the attack, two AT-TE walkers had been destroyed in an instant by heavy anti-armor fire. The ambush had quickly turned into a near slaughter, with dozens of clones dying in seconds, as well as a number of vehicles being turned into flaming wrecks in an instant.

The droids used rockets and anti-armor blaster cannons to cause heavy casualties to the Republic forces in the opening moments of the battle, several dwarf spider droids inflicting even more damage to their ambushed enemies. Although the clones had suffered major casualties in mere minutes, the Republic forces had now recuperated themselves enough, that they were able to form a defensive perimeter around the ambush site, and engage the attacking droids, holding their ground against the Separatist war machines.

The young human Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker walked in a fast pace along the stopped column of walkers and vehicles, walking past more than one destroyed or heavily damaged vehicle under his command. As he walked forward, Anakin occasionally had to take a second to deflect incoming blaster fire with his lightsaber, while dozens of clones all around returned fire, managing to keep their casualties to a minimum now, after the initial heavy damage that the Separatists had inflicted.

After a short moment in the midst of all the chaos, Anakin arrived to a wrecked AT-Te, that was lying on its side, smoke coming out of the several holes where the Separatist weapons had penetrated the armor. He could immediately spot his Padawan Ahsoka standing nearby, deflecting incoming shots with her lightsaber, and protecting the small makeshift FOB that the clones had established in the cover of the walker's wreckage. Among the several clones who were either firing at the droids surrounding the area, or consulting each other over strategic holograms of the battlefield, was Anakin's clone second-in-command, Captain CC-7567, nicknamed Rex. The highly skilled clone captain consulted the holograms in front of him, his helmet resting in his hands around his waist.

"What's the word on air support? The clankers seem to be dug in deep all around us." Rex said to one of the clones near him, a sergeant who was in charge of communications. The sergeant shrugged his shoulders, having not been able to reach anyone for a little while now.

"No idea, Captain. Air command have their own problems now; the Resolute is under heavy attack in the atmosphere. The droids must be scrambling our communications, because I can't reach them.." The clone replied, to which Rex sighed in slight frustration, before nodding his head.

"Alright, we'll make do with what we have then.." The Captain responded, after which he noticed Anakin approaching him and the rest of his squad. As the human Jedi deactivated his lightsaber, entering the cover of the downed AT-TE, all the clones that were able, Rex included, saluted him.

"General!" The loyal clone captain said, showing respect to his commanding officer, who simply signaled his men to stand at ease.

"I take it that we won't be getting any help from the air, Rex?" The young human man asked, placing his hands on his hips. His loyal companion and friend sighed, and shook his head in acknowledge of his Jedi commander's assumptions.

"No... we're on our own, sir. But not to worry! The 501st will make short work of these sneaky clankers!" Rex answered in a confident tone, which made his Jedi commander smirk, and nod in agreement.

Anakin then quickly gave his loyal clone subordinate an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before he turned his attention to his young apprentice, who was in the middle of spotting droid positions, as well as deflecting any incoming blaster shots at her.

The young Jedi Knight could see that his Padawan was too focused on her current task, that she had not been able to see him, or sense him coming. Anakin smiled as he looked at Ahsoka, having grown fond of his apprentice, especially because of their many similarities. The way the two of them worked so well together, despite their occasional arguments and disagreements only attracted Anakin more towards Ahsoka.

The first time he had seen her months ago, the young man could never have guessed how close he'd actually become with the young togruta. He could never see himself regretting the decision of taking Ahsoka as his apprentice anymore, as he had already grown too attached to her. She was the best Padawan a master could hope for, if a little rough around the edges at times. Nevertheless, Anakin was proud of her, and wanted to stay beside her for years to come.

As he made his way behind his apprentice, the young togruta suddenly jumped a little, as if she was startled. Ahsoka quickly turned around to see her master standing right behind her, a slight smirk on his face.

"It's good that you're focused on the task at hand, Snips, but you should have sensed my presence already.." Anakin said to his Padawan, who bit her lip, and wiped off a bit of sweat from her forehead. She had tired herself protecting the nearby clones from incoming blaster fire.

"I'm just giving you a fair shot at surprising me every now and then, master. Wouldn't be fun if I always beat you to the punch!" The young togruta replied, as she steadied her breathing from moving around intensely just a few seconds ago. Her Jedi Master let out a quiet chuckle, folding his arms.

"Oh, sure you are, Snips." He answered with a laugh, which made his apprentice smirk slightly as well, and blush ever so slightly, as she looked away for a moment.

As Ahsoka looked past Anakin at random, she suddenly spotted a DSD1 dwarf spider droid making its way on top of a small hill nearby. The droid stomped its way to an attacking position, swiftly aiming its large nose cannon towards Anakin, who had his back turned to it. Ahsoka's eyes widened, and she quickly lunged at her master slightly.

"Anakin! Look out!" She exclaimed, grasping at her master's arm. Anakin quickly turned to look at the spider droid's direction, just as it fired its cannon at him.

As the cannon round flew across the air towards Anakin and Ahsoka, the human man swiftly, yet rather nonchalantly bent himself backwards, causing the blaster shot to fly right past him and his Padawan, impacting the wreck of the AT-TE walker and causing a small explosion, which startled the clones nearby. After that, Anakin straightened up again, and glanced over at the droid.

"Now that's just rude.." The young man said in a slight joking manner, which made his apprentice smile, and roll her eyes.

"I just knew you would say that, Skyguy.." Ahsoka remarked with a slight giggle. She loved this side of her master; the humorous and fun loving man that Anakin was, under his occasional hard and serious shell. The fact that her master could remain cool and positive under fire was just one of the reasons why the young girl felt attracted to him.

"Well, there's nothing else to say when the droids interrupt the conversation with my dear Padawan." Anakin stated, as he activated his lightsaber, and swung it around once. The spider droid opened fire again, still targeting the young Jedi Knight.

The cannon round flew right towards Anakin, who took a stern stance, and readied himself. He deflected the powerful blast with his lightsaber, sending the laser round flying back at the spider droid. The shot impacted one of the droid's legs, destroying it and causing the droid to lose its balance.

As the droid was distracted, Ahsoka took the moment to throw her own lightsaber far into the air. The spinning blade flew across the battlefield, and struck the droid down, slicing through its body all the way. After the droid was destroyed, the young togruta called back her weapon, the hilt of the lightsaber returning to her hand. Anakin let out a quiet chuckle, as he looked at his Padawan.

"Isn't team work grand, Snips?" He asked with a chuckle, to which his young apprentice could not help but smile, as she turned towards him again.

"Well, I'm glad that you've warmed up to me, Skyguy.. you weren't so fond of our partnership back when we met on Christophsis.. " Ahsoka replied to him with a slight smirk, lifting up her nose in a snippy way, to which her master bit his lip, and scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, well.. you obviously charmed me quite well, Ahsoka." Anakin answered, letting out another chuckle. His apprentice grinned slightly, as she then tugged his arm a bit in a playful way.

"I think that's a given, Skyguy.." The young togruta replied, slightly sticking her tongue out playfully, as she smirked at her master, and tugged his arm again, making him smile widely as a response.

Before they could converse further, Anakin suddenly could hear something on a nearby hill, behind Ahsoka's back. He looked up, and could see a _sniper droideka_ rolling on top of the hill, and taking up firing position. Droidekas, also known as "destroyers", were extremely deadly elite battle droids, designed by the highly intelligent insect race, the _collicoids_. Droidekas were made to physically resemble their collicoid designers, giving them an eerily alien look. As the droid came out of its "rolling" mode, and prepared its primary weapon, Anakin's eyes widened.

"Snips, behind you!" He shouted, trying to get his Padawan out of the way.

Before Ahsoka could react, the droideka already opened fire, a single shot flying through the air far quicker than the young togruta could possibly anticipate. The shot hit the young Padawan on her shoulder, pushing her forward, as she gasped in both surprise and pain. Anakin's heart jumped to his throat, as Ahsoka fell forward, right into his embrace, as he caught her from midair.

"Ahsoka!" He exclaimed loudly, his voice cracking. The young togruta's eyes were wide, as she looked around.

The wound on her shoulder didn't seem to be fatal, but Anakin could tell that it was hurting his young Padawan, a nasty looking wound burning on her skin. He quickly began to rub his hand on the wound, putting out the fire and pushing away the residue from the blaster shot that had hit her. Anakin was completely distracted by Ahsoka's injury, as he completely forgot that the sniper droideka still had its crosshairs on them. Realizing this a second later, the young man's eyes widened, as he glanced up at the hill, where the droid was now sitting prepared to shoot both him and Ahsoka to pieces.

Hugging Ahsoka even tighter, Anakin grinded his teeth together, and turned the young girl around, moving his back against the droideka's line of sight, determined to protect her with his own body. The droideka then opened fire again, another blaster shot flying straight at Anakin's back. The young man closed his eyes, tightly embracing his young Padawan, not willing to let her be harmed any further.

Just before the sniper round could hit him, Anakin and Ahsoka were suddenly yanked to the side, as if something heavy was ramming them off the course of the blaster shot. They fell on the ground, Anakin immediately looking to his left. He could see Rex lying on top of them, glancing to the direction of the droideka. The clone captain quickly took out his DC17 blaster pistol, and fired at the droid, swiftly destroying it with a few well placed shots.

After the droid was gone, Rex got back to his feet, allowing Anakin to move around again. The young Jedi Knight sighed in massive relief, not having expected to see his clone friend come to his and Ahsoka's aid.

"Thanks Rex.. I owe you one..." He said as he was panting slightly, his heart still racing within his chest. The clone captain simply put his pistol away, and bent down towards the two Jedi, helping Anakin geth himself and Ahsoka back up.

"More than one, sir.. but this one was on the house." Rex replied, as he helped the two Jedi back on their feet, although Anakin quickly lifted his apprentice off the ground, and proceeded to carry her safely in his arms.

The young man sighed deeply, as he glanced at Ahsoka, who breathed heavily, most likely still in a lot of pain and shock. The young girl looked around frantically, her lower lip trembling.

"M-master..." She whispered, her voice hoarse and weak. Anakin shook his head, and hushed the young togruta.

"No, don't speak, Snips. I'll get you to the triage.. just hold on.." He assured, before he quickly made his way back towards the AT-TE's wreck, where a small triage had been set up, along with the makeshift forward operations base. As they approached the small area, with several medical stretches laid down on the rocky ground, Captain Rex signaled his men.

"Get some more suppressing fire around the perimeter! Move it, you grunts!" The clone shouted orders to his subordinates, many of whom immediately launched into action, taking new positions around the walker's wreck, and proceeding to cover the FOB a little more than before.

As Anakin carried Ahsoka over to the makeshift medical center, a few of the clone medics, including a trooper nicknamed Kix, swiftly made their way to the two Jedi, helping the General safely place down his Padawan on the medical stretcher. Anakin could let out a slight sigh of relief, even though there were still explosions and blaster fire going off all around in the surrounding area.

He quickly knelt down next to his young apprentice, who was now lying on the stretcher. Ahsoka looked confused, and still in slight shock. The blaster shot had taken her by complete surprise, leaving her quite dumbfounded and shocked. The young girl looked around in confusion, breathing heavily. Anakin's heart was still pounding in his chest, his near panicking amount of worry only now starting to fade away. As Kix took it upon himself to treat Ahsoka, allowing his fellow medics to return to their duties treating injured clones, the young togruta looked up at her master, her icy blue eyes nearly sparkling.

"Anakin... I.. I'm sorry.." She whimpered quietly, to which her Jedi Master simply smiled, and shook his head, as he gently touched her shoulder, while Kix took out a bacta infused bandage from a medical crate, and began to slowly apply it on her wound.

"For what? It's not your fault that sniper picked you as a target.. don't worry about it, Snips. You'll feel better in no time... right, Kix?" Anakin answered in a soft voice, as he then glanced at the clone medic treating Ahsoka's wounds.

"Absolutely, sir! Commander Tano's injury is a minor one.. it only looks nasty. I'm surprised that the destroyer sniper hit such a bad shot on her. But she should be back in action by the end of the day, regardless.." Kix replied, as he continued to treat the young Padawan's injuries, also checking her if there were anything else wrong with her. Ahsoka kept staring at Anakin, biting her lip.

"You put yourself in danger because of me.. because I wasn't focused enough. You could have died, master..." She said to him, her eyes seemingly beginning to water up. Anakin stared into her eyes, letting out a quiet sigh, as he gently moved his hand to squeeze hers, smiling at her warmly.

"Well.. as I've told you before, it's the job of a master to take care of their Padawan, no matter what. You're my apprentice, Ahsoka.. you'll be a future Jedi Knight, but up until that, I'll always keep you safe.. because it's my duty." The young man explained with a calm and soft voice. His apprentice smiled in response, and slightly squeezed Anakin's hand back with hers.

"I don't know if any other master would protect me with their own body.. by embracing me in the face of enemy fire..." Ahsoka answered softly, breaking eye contact with Anakin for a split second, as she bit her lip again, and couldn't help but feel her cheeks getting extremely warm for a moment. Hearing that made her master's eyes widen a bit as well, as he looked away for a second, feeling awkward.

"Oh.. well... I don't think they'd be good masters, if they weren't willing to do that.." Anakin stated, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile, which only made his Padawan giggle quietly, as she squeezed his hand again.

"Guess I got real lucky then, Skyguy.." She said quietly, almost whispering, as her eyes met with Anakin's again. The young man still had a sheepish smile on his face, as looking at his Padawan made his heart beat a little faster. He found something especially attractive with Ahsoka's face and looks, no matter how uneasy it made him feel.

"Uh.. I.. well.. I can say the same, Snips.." Anakin responded stutteringly, feeling how his cheeks were getting quite warm as well. Ahsoka smiled even wider as she saw that, the young togruta girl proceeding to move her thumb gently on top of her master's hand, that was still holding hers.

As the two of them continued to stare into each other's eyes, both feeling warmth in their hearts as the tender moment went on, a sudden mortar blast nearby interrupted their affectionate bonding. Anakin looked behind himself, seeing Rex and a few of his men scanning the area for a droid attack. The Jedi Knight hummed quietly to himself, as he then returned his attention to his Padawan, who gave him an understanding smile.

"Time to move on, I guess?" Ahsoka asked softly, to which her master bit his lip, and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, but don't worry... I'll take care of the droids with Rex ol' boy.. you just stay here and take it easy, alright? We'll drive out the Seppies off Ruusan soon, Snips.. it'll be _wizard_ , I promise!" The young man said enthusiastically, trying to cheer up his apprentice, who began to laugh quietly, and shake her head.

"You did not just say that!" Ahsoka replied, as she giggled sweetly, which only made Anakin smile more. He knew that his Padawan was talking about the word "wizard", which was something Anakin and his friends had used as children. It apparently was not such a popular word in the rest of the Galaxy.

"I'm bringing it back, Snips. You'll see!" He assured to the young girl, who rolled her eyes, and giggled for a short moment still.

"Sure you will, Skyguy.." Ahsoka answered, letting out a cheery sigh then, as she squeezed Anakin's hand again. After that, the human man gave his apprentice one last smiling glance, before he got up again, and quickly looked down at her lying on the stretcher.

"Alright.. I'll catch up with you later, Ahsoka. Just let that shoulder rest for now.. you'll be back in action with me soon enough." He said to her, winking his eye quickly, which made her smirk slightly, as she nodded.

"Can't wait, master. Hit 'em where it hurts, Skyguy!" She answered, winking her eye back at the young Jedi Knight, who let out a quiet chuckle, as he gave his Padawan a small salute with his fingers, before he turned around and walked over to Captain Rex.

As Anakin and his clone subordinates quickly planned on their next move, Ahsoka kept on staring at her master, while lying on the medical stretcher. She could feel her heart beating faster every time she laid her eyes on the young man, her mind starting to race with all kinds of thoughts. The young togruta could feel how infatuated she had become with her master, which was something no Padawan was supposed to feel. Despite breaking all sorts of rules and norms, Ahsoka couldn't help but adore her kind, affectionate and handsome Jedi Master.

After a short moment, Anakin, Rex and a group of clone soldiers left the makeshift FOB, assumingly to examine the droid offensive. Although the initial ambush had inflicted heavy casualties, the Separatist forces had seemingly exhausted their offensive capabilities, as only small continuous attacks were keeping the Republic column still. As the group of men left, Ahsoka sighed quietly, looking after her master walking away.

"He's so... dreamy.." She said quietly to herself, knowing that she must have sounded like an infatuated little girl, daydreaming about her favorite celebrity. To her surprise, it seemed that Kix, the clone medic treating her, had heard her saying that.

"What's that, Commander? Do you need anything?" The clone asked, as he crouched down next to Ahsoka, likely thinking that she needed something. The young girl bit her lip, and shook her head.

"Oh, nothing, Kix! Sorry.. just talking to myself..." She responded to the medic, feeling embarrassed, and could tell that her cheeks were red as tomatoes. Kix was silent for a moment, leaning his head slightly, likely a bit confused.

"Oh.. alright, sir." The clone medic simply replied, as he got up on his feet again, and returned his attention to the other patients, leaving Ahsoka by herself.

For the following moments the young togruta kept on thinking about her master. She scolded herself for getting injured, although she could not deny how good she had felt being in Anakin's arms, and sharing a tender moment with him. Ahsoka knew that she would be separated from her master, if anyone would ever learn about her feelings for him, which was something that most certainly stressed her out. However, her growing feelings of attachment and infatuation for the young man drowned out those stressful thoughts, making her feel more at peace.

Ahsoka knew that she was young, and likely did not evoke any sort of similar feelings in Anakin. However, despite of that, she could not fight against the feelings that were constantly growing inside of her. She adored her master, now more than ever, and she was sure that her attachment for him would only grow in strength. No matter what were to happen, Ahsoka was certain that she was quickly falling in love.

 **Present day...**

Pitch-dark emptiness surrounded Ahsoka and all of her senses. She felt slightly cold, like her entire being was entrapped inside a frigid and dark cage. The young togruta couldn't even hear herself breathing; everything felt wrong.

"Ahsoka.." An echoing male voice called out to her. She couldn't make out who the voice belonged to, not sure if it was Anakin or someone else trying to reach out to her.

"Open your eyes.." The same voice said, echoing in the togruta's hearing organs, that were located inside of her montrals. Ahsoka frowned, feeling as if she was asleep against her will.

Suddenly, the young girl was able to open her eyes, as she gasped loudly, waking up from her restless sleep. Ahsoka could immediately find herself in an absurd and quite disorienting place, noticing that she was standing on a small patch of rocky land, in the middle of a vast sea of empty darkness. The young togruta raised her eyebrows, looking around and trying to figure out, just what was going on. It was as if she was still in a dream; nothing around her made any sense.

"Where am I?" She asked herself, looking around hastily, being on guard. Before she could explore the surrounding abstract area further, the same male voice answered her.

"We are inside of your mind, Ahsoka.." The voice stated, coming from behind her. Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat, as she quickly turned around, noticing that it was her ancestor Kallig speaking to her.

To her great surprise, Ahsoka could see that her human ancestor did not appear as an ethereal spirit any longer, but like a physical person, as he stood right in front of her. She could see his physical features a lot better, getting a detailed look at him for the first time, which was a little unsettling for the young girl, although fascinating as well. Kallig had his hands behind his back, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"I've taken the time to begin exploring your mind more thoroughly, child. Your memories give me a preliminary window into the history of the Galaxy, as well as what has happened to you in the recent years.." The human man explained calmly, to which his descendant raise her eyebrows further.

"Oh? And... why exactly am I here then?" Ahsoka asked, looking around again, the surreal scenery making her head spin. Kallig let out a short chuckle, as he looked around as well for a quick moment.

"Well, I think that this is a good way for us to talk more privately for a moment. You can return to your friends soon enough, don't you worry.." He answered with a reassuring smile, as he turned to glance back at Ahsoka, who folded her arms. She simply let out a quiet hum, expecting her ancestor to say what he had on his mind.

Kallig inhaled quickly, before he stepped past his togruta descendant, leading her to turn around. As Ahsoka turned to look behind her, she could see an unmoving figure of Count Dooku, standing nearby. The young girl raised her eyebrows again, not knowing how Dooku had appeared there. Kallig walked over to the frozen Sith Lord, as if it was a statue to be admired, and walked around it, staring at the elder human man.

"This Count Dooku is leading a separatist movement against the Republic currently? I went over some of your memories.. about the start of a 'Clone War'. They're doing battle with armies of clones..?" The bearded man asked, as he stared up and down Dooku's body, whose figure was likely the creation from Ahsoka's memories. The young togruta bit her lip, as she stepped over to her ancestor.

"The Republic is using clones, but the Separatists use armies of droids. Dooku used to be a Jedi, but now he's a Sith. Or, he was the last time I heard about him... I've been out of the loop for a while now.." She responded, to which Kallig raised his eyebrows slightly, before chuckling quietly.

"A Sith Lord, eh? Doesn't look like one to me... but then again, the Sith during my time made an effort to be as noticeable as possible. It seems that they have gone underground during this time... I guess the Jedi finally eradicated them, at least for the most part.." The former Sith Lord said with a chuckle, stroking his whitening beard. Ahsoka could tell that his hair color had been dark, or perhaps auburn at one point, however.

"The Sith were thought to be destroyed for over a millennia. I think Master Yoda talked about there being only two Sith at one time.. something about a 'Rule of Two'..." The young togruta explained, to which her ancestor stroked his beard further, letting out a long hum.

"Hmm.. only two Sith at one time? Now that's a new one.. the Galaxy has certainly changed since I died. The Sith Empire has been extinct for who knows how long, and the Republic yet remains. It seems that the Jedi are good at beating the Sith, and yet they always return eventually. A vicious cycle, if you ask me..." Kallig answered, mainly speaking to himself, to which Ahsoka bit her lip, and folded her arms again.

After that, the human man walked past his togruta descendant again, causing her to turn around yet again. Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat, as she could now notice the unmoving figure of Anakin, standing nearby. Kallig walked over to the young man's statue-like figure, starting to examine it. The young togruta girl could feel her heart pounding, as she slowly walked over to her ancestor, rubbing her arm and biting her lip.

"This man... he appears in your memories and mind more frequently than anything else. You are clearly very attached to him." The ancient Sith Lord said, continuing to stare at Anakin. Ahsoka could feel her heart beat even faster, as she began to fiddle with her hands.

"Uh.. well... we're.. you know..." She stuttered, knowing that her cheeks had to be brightly red right now. Her ancestor then glanced at her, and smiled wider, as he could see Ahsoka look away in embarrassment.

"It's comforting to see that some things don't change... Jedi falling in love with each other included.." Kallig stated with a quick little laugh, apparently having no problems at figuring out just how Ahsoka felt about the young human man next to him. His descendant let out a short and embarrassed little laugh as well.

Not many knew about her relationship with Anakin, and Ahsoka could not help but to feel a little embarrassed every time it was brought up. Not because she was ashamed of loving Anakin, but because she was uncertain whether or not showing her love to him openly would be a good idea.

"I can sense your worries about him too. You're afraid that he is in danger, because of the disturbance you felt earlier. Let that fear give your strength, Ahsoka.. your emotions are a powerful tool. Do not be afraid to use them.. but also be mindful not to let them rule over you..." Kallig continued explaining, to which his descendant bit her lip again, and nodded slowly.

"Because letting them rule you leads to the Dark Side, right..?" Ahsoka asked in turn, giving her ancestor a small smile on his face again, as he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Exactly. The Sith back in my time liked to reassure themselves that they were the only dominant force in their lives.. that they were in control. In reality however, they, just like me, were controlled by their emotions, and not the other way around.." He explained, confirming Ahsoka's suspicions that he in fact no longer considered himself a Sith Lord. Kallig had moved on and freed himself from the shackles of the Sith Order.

"What made you turn away from the dark..? How did you leave the Sith behind?" She then asked her ancestor, whose eyes widened slightly, as he was surprised by the question. The human man then began to laugh slightly, as he stroked his beard.

"My, my.. that is quite the story, Ahsoka. I will explain as quickly as I can.. or otherwise we could be here for a week." Kallig replied with a chuckle, as he then cleared his throat. Ahsoka bit her lip slightly, folding her arms again. She was curious to hear about her ancestor's past. How did a Dark Lord of the Sith find the "balance", and the "third way"?

"Years before my retirement, I was still a leading member of the Dark Council on Korriban, as well as Dromund Kaas. I lead the _Sphere of Ancient Knowledge_ , tasked to preserve and spread the influence of the Sith. I gained the position by killing my rival _Darth Thanaton_... such was the way Sith usually climbed up the career ladder in my time.." The man explained, starting to pace around slightly, as the statue-like figure of Anakin disappeared. Ahsoka stayed quiet, interested to hear what happened next.

"Near the end of the second war between the Empire and the Republic, it was discovered that the Sith Emperor Vitiate was not what he had made himself out to be. He desired the destruction of all life in the Galaxy.. and used us as his pawns in order to reach his goal. He desired immortality and unlimited power, and cared not for the trillions of lives that would be lost. So.. he had to be stopped." Kallig continued his story, causing Ahsoka's eyes to widen. She barely knew anything about the wars between the Republic and the Sith Empire; they were such ancient knowledge that only the most learned Jedi scholars likely knew about it nowadays.

"Surprisingly enough, the Empire and the Republic teamed up with each other to take down Vitiate. First I took part in a campaign to bring down the resurgent, yet mentally broken Darth Revan, who attempted to summon the spirit of the recently destroyed Emperor Vitiate, in order to erase him from the face of the Galaxy once and for all. He was insane, however, and so I fought him, and defeated him, alongside a dozen Sith and Jedi allies..." The human man continued to explain, with his togruta descendant listening to him with all her attention. Ahsoka bit her lip, having never thought that her own ancestor would have been part of so many pivotal moments in history.

"What happened next..?" She asked curiously, wanting to know how the Sith Emperor was finally defeated, if he ever actually was. Ahsoka had no idea what had happened back then, but since no one had ever talked to her about a Sith Emperor named Vitiate before, she had a good feeling that the ancient Dark Lord was long since dead.

"After Revan was destroyed, the Republic and the Empire resumed open warfare. Not long afterwards, Vitiate moved in on the ancient Sith world of _Ziost_ , possessing hundreds upon hundreds of the Empire's military and citizens on the planet, as well as several Republic Jedi and soldiers. The Sith Emperor attempted to subjugate the planet's populace, and perform the destructive ritual that would give him more power..." Kallig then explained, his voice becoming more quiet, as he clearly remembered back to that time. His descendant bit her lip, as she could only imagine how it was like to live during a time like that.

"Despite our best efforts, of my best efforts, Vitiate succeeded. Ziost was rendered a dead world, all life on the planet being annihilated.. drained by the Sith Emperor's spirit. Growing ever more powerful, the Emperor disappeared, leaving the Empire behind that he betrayed.." The man continued, letting out a quiet sigh afterwards. Ahsoka could see that her ancestor cursed himself for his failures, even if there had been nothing that Kallig could have done back then. After a short moment, the human man regained his composure, and continued his story.

"Months later, a mysterious military fleet emerged from the Unknown Regions, from the planet of _Zakuul_ , led by powerful Force using twin brothers. Sensing the presence of Vitiate, I was called upon by my Dark Council colleague _Darth Marr_ , and we led a Sith fleet to engage this new threat. We were defeated, and captured... taken to the leader of this aggressive regime." He explained, after which he took a short moment to inhale deeply, as his young togruta descendant listened with her full attention.

"We were taken in front of _Valkorion_ , the Emperor of the _Eternal Empire_. However, in reality, Valkorion was simply a pawn of Vitiate, his body possessed by the Sith Emperor. Behind everyone's backs, Vitiate had spent centuries creating a new and powerful empire on Zakuul, while maintaining his own Sith Empire on Dromund Kaas as well.." Kallig continued, which made Ahsoka's eyes widen. The young girl bit her lip again, stroking her chin.

"He led two empires at the same time? One in complete secret, no less?" She asked her ancestor, who let out a slight scoff, nodding his head.

"Vitiate was a cunning being.. one devoid of any emotion and empathy. All he cared about was to become an immortal God.. eternal being that would subjugate the entire universe..." The bearded man replied, to which his descendant grinded her teeth together. She definitely was glad that the Sith Emperor was more than likely defeated forever eventually.

"One of the twin Force users, _Arcann_ , who happened to be Valkorion's son, betrayed his father and killed him, as they were about to execute me, for not bending my knee to his rule. Vitiate's spirit escaped Valkorion's body, and possessed me.. after which Arcann ascended to the _Eternal Throne_ , and encased me in carbonite.." Kallig continued to tell his story, something that Ahsoka had never seen in the Jedi Archive's history books.

"After five years of being frozen in carbonite, I was awoken by my old allies, who fought against Arcann and the Eternal Empire. I eventually rose to lead an alliance of Republic and Imperial volunteers, who stood up against the Eternal Throne's oppression. Under Arcann, the Eternal Empire had conquered most of the Galaxy, besting both the Republic and the Sith Empire.." He then explained, to which Ahsoka raised her eyebrows.

She had never heard of an "Eternal Empire", but she remembered hearing something about Zakuul before. To her knowledge, Zakuul was a remote jungle world deep within the Unknown Regions, having little to no permanent population. It was not part of the Republic, and was largely an irrelevant world. It felt absurd for Ahsoka that such a planet was able to form a powerful empire.

"For months upon months we fought against Arcann, defeating him. His sister, _Vaylin_ , later rose to the Eternal Throne as an Empress, continuing the Eternal Empire's oppressive rule. But after everything, I was able to defeat her, and even her father, Vitiate, destroying his spirit once and for all, and ridding the Galaxy of the Sith Emperor's toxic presence.." Kallig stated, causing his young descendant to sigh quietly in relief. Ahsoka was more than happy to hear that Vitiate's spirit was gone forever, and could never rise again.

"What happened then? You obviously succeeded in defeating the Eternal Empire.." The young togruta then asked, to which her ancestor let out a quiet hum, as he stroked his graying beard.

"After their defeat, I had the opportunity to seize the Eternal Throne for myself. I decided to reform the regime into the _Eternal Alliance_ ; a coalition of millions of beings, from both the Republic's and Sith Empire's side, working together to rebuild the Galaxy devastated by multiple wars.." He explained, making his descendant raise her eyebrows again, as the young girl had never heard of such an alliance before. As she bit her lip, Kallig let out a slight sigh.

"Unfortunately, the peace didn't last for long. The Empire and the Republic eventually found themselves at odds again. Despite the Eternal Alliance being the most powerful military force in the Galaxy, the two age old enemies renewed hostilities yet again..." The man continued. Ahsoka could only sigh as well. The Galaxy had never really known how to stay at peace, it seemed.

"And.. that lead to what?" She asked her ancestor, who quietly bit his lip, before continuing.

"The Eternal Alliance fell apart soon after that. My allies and subordinates were drawn back to their old allegiances... the Republic's soldiers defected back to their former units, while the Imperials renewed their vows to the Empire's new leader, _Darth Acina_. I was called back to service as a former member of the Dark Council... yet I refused.." Kallig replied, after which Ahsoka raised her eyebrows further, folding her arms again.

"Why'd they call you back? Weren't you the leader of the Alliance? And why did you refuse..?" The young girl asked, wanting to know more. Her ancestor shrugged his shoulders, exhaling long.

"As I said, Ahsoka, the Eternal Alliance quickly fell apart, when my soldiers and servants returned to their old friends and allies. During this time I was reunited with my long lost love, Ashara, and together we decided to leave the horrors of war behind us, and so we retired on Shili... though not before I gathered my loyal cultists from _Nar Shaddaa_ to come with us.." The man said, as he slightly chuckled. His young descendant bit her lip, as she remembered how her ancestor's cult had greeted her.

"You still didn't tell me how you discovered the balance within you.. how you left the Dark Side behind you." Ahsoka then said, remembering what she had asked Kallig to tell her in the first place. The aging human man seemingly could remember as well, as he let out a short laugh after a moment.

"Ah, of course! It seems that I got carried away with my little history lesson there.." He said with a short chuckle, after which he cleared his throat again, as his descendant smiled slightly, her arms still folded.

"During my fight against Arcann's rule of the Eternal Empire, I travelled to the remote and uninhabited planet of _Odessen_ , deep within Wild Space. It was highly concentrated with the Force, and we chose it as the headquarters for the Alliance. While there, I encountered the former Grand Master of the Jedi Order _Satele Shan_ , as well as the spirit of my old colleague, Darth Marr.." Kallig explained, before swallowing quite audibly, as he then continued.

"The two old enemies had allied themselves to find a way to beat the Eternal Empire and Vitiate, and taught me everything they had discovered while meditating on Odessen. After rigorous training, I finally achieved true balance within myself.. I attuned myself to the Force, and became stronger than ever. I let go of my past, and became something new.." The man finished, taking a deep breath after talking for so long. His young descendant bit her lip, and touched her chin, humming quietly. She could now see a bit clearer, what Kallig's wife, Ashara, was after.

"And.. you and Ashara want me to 'attune' myself as well, so that I can become more powerful?" Ahsoka asked, wondering just what her eons dead ancestor had in mind. Kallig glanced at her, and chuckled slightly again.

"Well, of course, Ahsoka. In order to become a powerful Force walker, you will have to let go of your past, and attune yourself to the Force.. find true balance, and walk the path between of light and darkness." The bearded man explained, to which the young togruta girl raised her eyebrows, and let out a quiet "ah" sound.

"Uh-huh.. and how can I do that?" She asked, which caused her ancestor to smile, and chuckle yet again.

"You will travel to the place where I learned, child. We will head for Odessen next. There, I will train you, my flesh and blood.." Kallig informed, to which his descendant's eyes widened. Ahsoka had no idea where Odessen even was.

"How would I get there? I've never heard of such a planet. And what happens once we're there..?" She further inquired, feeling suddenly uncertain about all of this. Her ancestor however smiled reassuringly, placing his hand on her shoulder. To her surprise, Ahsoka could feel the human man's cold hand.

"Don't worry about getting to Odessen, I've got that covered. Once you wake up, look for a large metallic container-like apparatus inside the inner sanctum, and head for the command console next to it. You will get your means of finding Odessen from that storage unit..." He explained with a slight smirk, giving his descendant a reassuring nod and a rub on the shoulder. The young togruta raised her eyebrow yet again, wondering just what her ancestor had planned for her.

"Oh.. okay, well, how exactly can I wake up now? I'm sorry, this all is just a bit new to me, Kallig.." Ahsoka replied, biting her lip and scratching the back of her head. Her human ancestor simply smiled, and let out a quiet chuckle.

"No need to apologize, child. I'll let you get back to your friends now.. I'm sure they're a bit spooked now." The bearded man replied with a chuckle, winking his eye quickly to the togruta girl, who still didn't quite know how exactly she could leave her own mind. She did want to wake up, however, as she was sure that her friends were more than a little worried about her.

Before Ahsoka could do anything however, her vision suddenly began to get blurred. The absurd and dark surrounding area began to fall apart, as if it was caving in on itself. The young togruta could see her human ancestor smirk slightly, as he calmly stood in the middle of the destruction. The young girl couldn't move anymore, as she felt like she was falling asleep against her will, even though she knew she was supposedly waking up.

In the process of only a few seconds, Ahsoka once again had her eyes closed, darkness surrounding her once more. She expected to awake in the following seconds, as she would be reunited with her friends Ventress, Tana-Rey and R2-D2. The young girl hoped that whatever her ancestor had planned for in the near future, it would lead her ever so closer to her goal of becoming stronger in the Force, and therefore stand a better chance at fighting against whatever her destiny had in store for her.

Regardless, she was rather eager to find out what would happen in the future, and just how much more power she had, now that she had successfully bound her several millennia old ancestor, Kallig.

 **...**

Small nuggets of stone from the ancient ceiling of Lord Kallig's tomb fell to the dusty floor of the mausoleum's dusty floor, sending echoing sounds throughout the eerie room. Lying unconscious at the floor, Ahsoka had her eyes closed, her friends Asajj Ventress and Tana-Rey hunched over her, the dathomirian woman frantically attempting to wake up the young togruta.

"Come on, Ahsoka! Don't do this again!" She exclaimed, slightly slapping the young togruta's cheeks, trying to get her to wake up. Ventress most certainly didn't want a repeat of what had happened earlier, with Ahsoka being critically injured aboard the Peacemaker.

After a short moment of continuing to shake her friend awake, Ahsoka suddenly opened her icy blue eyes. Her pupils constricted, as she woke up, sitting up and gasping for air. Both Ventress and Tana-Rey jumped back slightly, startled by their togruta friend's sudden awakening. The young girl breathed heavily for a few moments, before her dathomirian friend placed her hand on her shoulder.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Ventress asked quickly, panting slightly herself as well. Ahsoka slowly calmed her breathing, glancing around herself, feeling quite disoriented, returning back to reality.

"Uh.. I think so. I was inside of my own mind for a little while... Kallig wanted to speak with me privately.." She answered after a moment of gathering her thoughts and composure. Ventress raised her eyebrows, and quickly glanced at Tana-Rey, before returning to look at the togruta.

"What was so important, that he had to render you unconscious? You really gave us a fright, Ahsoka.." The dathomirian woman replied, to which Ahsoka sighed long, and scratched the back of her head, nodding as well.

"Yeah, I'm sorry... this whole Force walking thing is all new to me; I had no idea binding a spirit would do that.." She said to her friend, who sighed quietly, and rubbed her shoulder slightly.

"No, it's not your fault, Ahsoka.. I guess I'm just getting a bit protective nowadays, if you can believe that.." Ventress replied quickly, letting out a short and slightly uncomfortable laugh. Her togruta friend smiled, and nodded in agreement, knowing that Ventress really had changed into a better person during the recent months.

After that, Ahsoka proceeded to slowly get up, both Ventress and Tana-Rey helping her get on her feet. The young togruta felt slightly disoriented, her bones and muscles aching ever so slightly. As her two friends glanced at her expectantly, the young girl looked around quickly, trying to spot the container that Kallig had mentioned.

"Are you looking for something, Lady Tano?" Tana-Rey inquired, which made the young togruta nod, and bite her lip, as she could then spot a large metallic container looking apparatus nearby, sitting in a corner of the inner sanctum.

"Yeah.. that thing right there." Ahsoka replied promptly, as she pointed at the strange looking container. She then began to make her way to it swiftly, her two friends following in behind her.

"Uh.. what is that thing?" Ventress asked, as she and Tana-Rey arrived to the container structure, where Ahsoka was already looking around, stepping over to the control pad, that was placed right next to the container.

"Kallig said that this container would provide me with the means to get to Odessen." The togruta girl replied, biting her lip as she looked at the control panel, which had a keypad filled with strange foreign symbols. Ventress could only raise her eyebrows again, as she stopped behind her friend.

"And.. what is Odessen...?" The dathomirian asked, rubbing the back of her head, having no idea what her friend was talking about. Ahsoka simply shrugged her shoulders, still looking at the control pad.

"Apparently it's a planet, and Kallig wants me to head there next.. to train myself more.." She replied, her fingers slightly touching the dusty keypad. Ahsoka had no idea whether the appliance would even work anymore.

"Uh-huh... this entire ordeal gets more complicated all the time.." Ventress stated quietly to herself, as she let out a quiet sigh. Tana-Rey simply stayed quiet, as she had been mostly a polite observer, going wherever her new friends would take her. R2-D2 was nearby as well, rolling on his wheels closer to the trio of women.

As Ahsoka kept on looking at the control pad, she frowned slightly. She had no idea what to do now, and frustration began to build inside of her.

"Great... how am I supposed to use this thing, when I don't even understand the symbols?" She asked herself in slight frustration, sighing quietly. Before she could inspect the control pad and the container further, the young togruta could suddenly hear an echoing sound deep within her mind.

"Look closer, Ahsoka... you'll know how to open the way forward. Trust in yourself.." Kallig's disembodied voice echoed inside Ahsoka's eardrums, making the young girl bite her lip, and raise her eyebrows in confusion.

Ahsoka didn't know what her ancestor meant, but willing to test it out, she once again gave a close look to the control pad, and the weird symbols on the keypad. Squinting her eyes, and concentrating, Ahsoka could suddenly feel her right hand moving on its own. As if by instinct, her fingers pressed on several of the symbols on the keypad, forming a passkey of some sort. The young girl had no idea how she was able to do it, her hand and fingers moving as if they were possessed.

Immediately after she finished pressing the keypad's buttons, the container sprung to life. Ventress and Tana-Rey swiftly took a few steps back, being a bit startled by the large apparatus making all kinds of mechanical noises. Ahsoka bit her lip, and backed away as well, staring at the container, as it slowly began to open up.

Steam hissed out of the inner parts of the container, as its doors slowly slid open, letting out more steam and fog, concealing whatever the container held inside of it under the thick layer of smog. Other sorts of electrical and mechanic noises could then be heard, as if a machine was turned on, and began to warm up its components. Ahsoka could feel her heart beating faster, as she had no idea what to expect.

After a short moment, more mechanical sounds could be heard. Suddenly, Ahsoka could see two glowing light spots appearing in the middle of the mist and smoke, as if two glowing eyes had opened themselves. Her heart nearly jumping to her throat, the young togruta took another step back, as she could see an intimidating droid walk out of the foggy container, stepping down on the dusty floor.

The gold and black colored droid was nothing that Ahsoka had ever seen, looking like an advanced battle droid, vastly different from the droids that the Confederacy of Independent Systems had used. The droid had clear signs and marks of combat to it, several cuts and scratches decorating its elegant and sturdy looking body. The glowing orange eyes of the droid scanned the room it was in, more than likely eyeing up Ahsoka and her friends, who were all standing silently, though feeling very tense and uncomfortable.

"Announcement: Override protocol _Besh_ accepted. Acquirement of new owner processed. Scanning..." The droid announced, as it then suddenly took a few steps towards Ahsoka, having spotted her first. The young togruta bit her lip, squeezing her hands slightly, preparing to defend herself should the battle-ready droid attack her.

"Observation: A female togruta. DNA-scans indicate she is responsible for the activation protocols.." The droid said largely to himself, staring at Ahsoka, who raised her eyebrows. The intimidating droid then quickly made its way right in front of the young girl, looking down at her.

"Diplomatic: Greetings, my new master. I am _HK-55_ , at your service.." The droid explained, slightly bowing its metallic head to the surprised girl, who could only open her mouth slightly, and glance at her two friends, Ventress having an equally surprised and confused expression on her face.

"I.. uh.. new master?" Ahsoka asked, stuttering slightly as she was still quite intimidated by the large droid. HK-55 simply nodded its head in acknowledgment.

"Affirmative: That is correct, master. You were able to input the correct activation code into my container unit. Override protocols dictate that I am now assigned to your service. I previously served Lord Kallig, a truly magnificent and powerful being... I saw plenty of delightful destruction while serving under him.." The droid explained in a quite nonchalant tone, except when he was reminiscing about his servitude to Ahsoka's ancestor. The young girl bit her lip, letting out an uncomfortable laugh. She was uncertain whether this apparently war loving droid would be a good thing to have around her.

"Okay... and.. what exactly are you..?" The cautious young girl asked, fiddling with her hands for a bit, as she looked up and down the dangerous looking droid in front of her. The droid was silent for a second, before letting out a chuckle, which was rather odd for a droid.

"Informative: Why, I am the best, most lethal and advanced assassin droid on the market, master. _Hunter Killer_ assassin droid, mark 55.. that is 'HK-55' for all you _meatbags_. I excel in protocol, assassination, sabotage, all other kinds of combat, as well as slicing into enemy computers. In short, master.. I am the whole deal in one single, deadly package." HK-55 replied in an amused tone, boasting his qualifications. Ahsoka could only bite her lip harder, as she glanced at Ventress and Tana-Rey, her dathomirian friend having her arms folded, and an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Inquisitive: What can I do for you first, master? It has been far too long since I've gotten the chance to fulfill my master's orders. Do you want someone killed, mutilated, intimidated? Anything that suits your needs, and furthers your goals, master!" The droid stated, to which his new owner's mouth opened wide again, as Ahsoka had no idea what to say. She looked around for a moment, before clearing her throat slightly. She remembered why she had opened HK-55's container in the first place.

"Uh.. do you know how to get to Odessen? I need to get there.." The young togruta said to the droid, wondering if HK-55 was exactly what her ancestor had wanted her to recover. The assassin droid processed his master's request for a few seconds, before nodding in acknowledgment.

"Answer: Odessen, you say? Why, of course, master! My memory banks contain the coordinates of more than a hundred thousand worlds, including Odessen, the Eternal Alliance's former headquarters. Should you require it, I am more than able to lead you there, master.." HK-55 replied confidently, which made his young togruta owner sigh in relief. Ahsoka now knew that her new droid was the key to her getting to Odessen.

"Great, then I need you to come with me, HK-55. We have to get to Odessen as soon as we're able.." She said to the droid, who immediately nodded, seemingly eager to travel with her.

"Eager statement: As you wish, master. I follow you wherever you go, and will use my skills to keep you from harm's way. Let us be on our way then!" The droid answered, which made the young girl smile ever so slightly. While she did not like the fact that HK-55 was an assassin droid, she couldn't help but find the droid's personality quite fascinating.

"Woah, woah, wait a second.." Ventress' voice could then be heard. Ahsoka and HK-55 both turned their attention to the dathomirian, who walked over the togruta. The young girl's newly acquired assassin droid took a different stance, as if he prepared to treat Ventress as a hostile individual.

"Ahsoka, you sure this is a good idea? We have no idea what this droid is-" The dathomirian continued, before suddenly being interrupted by HK-55, who aggressively stepped in front of Ahsoka, threateningly standing up to Ventress, who was taken aback slightly. The assassin droid's eyes flickered a few times, as the machine scanned the woman in front of him.

"Analysis: Unknown species.. traces of both human and zabrak DNA. A hybrid, or a failed scientific experiment. Permission to eradicate this mutant, master?" HK-55 asked, squeezing its mechanical hands into fists, preparing to kill Ventress, whose eyes widened. The dathomirian then frowned deeply, glaring at the droid.

"Who are you calling a mutant, piece of rust!?" She shot back at the droid, which only seemed to excite it. Before the situation could get out of hand, Ahsoka quickly came in between the two of them.

"Wait! Asajj is a friend of mine, HK-55! There's no need to eradicate anyone here.." The young togruta assured to her new personal assassin droid, who fell silent for a moment, glancing between his owner and Ventress, before shrugging his shoulders.

"Disappointed statement: That is a shame, master.. but I will follow your lead." The disappointed droid replied in a more low voice, backing down away from Ventress, who frowned and folded her arms again. Ahsoka turned her attention to the dathomirian then.

"Be nice.. let's not make new enemies, okay? I need to get to Odessen, and HK-55 seems to be the only way for me to reach that planet." She told her friend, who sighed deeply, before nodding.

"Yeah, fine.. I just hope that this all will pay off. Having an ancient Sith Lord inside of your head is dangerous enough, and now we have this killer droid thrown on top of us. Just be careful, is all I'm asking.." Ventress replied, as she then turned away, and walked back to Tana-Rey, who stood near R2-D2.

Ahsoka bit her lip, and sighed quietly to herself. She understood her friend's worries, but she also knew that this was her only way to reach her goals, and fulfill her destiny. Not wanting to think about it any further, she then turned her attention back to HK-55.

"We have a ship waiting at a nearby town. If I take you with us, can you lead us to Odessen?" The young girl asked the droid, who promptly nodded in acknowledgment.

"Acknowledging reply: Absolutely, master. I can plot a hyperspace route to Odessen, as long as I'm provided with a navicomputer. So, shall we be on our way then?" HK-55 answered, eager to leave. His young new master responded with a slight smile, nodding, as she then glanced at her three friends nearby.

"Yeah, let's get out of here, before all this dust makes us sick.." Ahsoka stated with a slight chuckle, although knowing well, just how dangerous it was to breathe in too much dust.

As the young togruta then began to make her way out of the inner sanctum, heading towards the exit, her new assassin droid started to follow her, his mechanical joints making distinctive sounds, as HK-55 stomped on the dusty floor. Ventress and Tana-Rey quickly glanced at each other, before the voss female began to follow Ahsoka as well, R2-D2 doing the same, after beeping to himself a few times.

Ventress stayed standing still for a short while, her arms still folded, as she looked around, biting her lip. The dathomirian didn't want to leave all the ancient loot behind, although she was unsure whether or not it'd be a good idea to take anything. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Ventress then quietly made her way to the nearby stand, where Kallig's old lightsaber was displayed.

The dathomirian woman stood in front of the display stand for a few moments, gazing at the ancient, elegant looking lightsaber. She took a deep breath, and slowly picked it up, holding it in her hands. Ventress couldn't deny the allure of selling the ancient lightsaber on the black market. However, she knew that Ahsoka's ancestor would likely find out, and possibly haunt her for the rest of her life. Finding herself unable to leave the weapon behind, however, the dathomirian sighed quietly to herself, as she hid the lightsaber in her clothes, placing the hilt in one of the pockets inside of her outfit.

After that, Ventress looked around quickly once again, making sure that she wasn't leaving anything of value to her behind. Knowing that her friends would soon start to wonder where she had left, the dathomirian then quickly made her way out of the inner sanctum, catching up to the rest of the group after a few moments.

Ahsoka had now acquired the means to reach Odessen, where her ancestor believed she could train her now powers most efficiently. The details of said training were still shrouded in darkness for the young girl, as well as her future in general. One thing was for certain though; Ahsoka was growing in power, and had taken her first steps at becoming the strongest, and most likely the only legitimate Force walker in modern history. With her ancestor's tutelage, the young togruta would only gain more power, and become more powerful than she ever had been while serving the Jedi Order.

While Ahsoka knew that she would never give in to the temptations of the dark side, she also knew that her former life as a Jedi was a thing of the past, and that she'd have to move on from it, and become a better and more powerful person as a result. Discovering and learning the secrets of the "third path" seemed to be the best way for her to reach her goals, and the young togruta was more than ready to face all the difficulties of her imminent future, on the mysterious world of Odessen.

 **...**

The ecumenopolis planet Coruscant was divided into hundreds of levels of infrastructure. The surface area of the massive Galactic City spanned the entire planet, thousands of kilometers high skyscrapers and buildings donning the landscape. Beneath the luxurious city's surface however, opened up a whole another environment; Coruscant's lower levels.

Called the " _Underworld_ ", the lower regions of the planet's massive cities were poor and dirty, filled with the Galaxy's most wretched and corrupt denizens. While not everyone living in the Underworld was a criminal, the slums within the dark and gritty cities were naturally associated with poverty, with most of the citizens living there leading hard and difficult lives.

Due to the high rate of crime in the massive slum-areas, the law enforcement in the Underworld was known as ruthless and aggressive, using brutal force when taking down suspects. The law-abiding citizens of the lower levels feared the police officers as much as they feared the criminals and gang syndicates.

A dark and dirty alleyway between two massive apartment complexes, housing hundreds of residents, had its rather abnormal tranquil silence broken, as two human men suddenly appeared from behind a corner, running through the alleyway, panting heavily, as their feet splashed the mucky water of a small puddle. The men were Jedi, their lightsabers hanging on their belts, although both of them were wearing slightly unorthodox apparel, with the younger one of them donning a simple leather jacket, and clothing usually associated with "normal civilians".

After a moment of running, the two exhausted men stopped, taking a moment to catch their breath and rest, as they looked around frantically. They were Jedi Knights Ferus Olin, and Jax Pavan, formerly agents working for the Republic Intelligence. Their servitude to the intelligence agency had come to an abrupt end only a few hours earlier, as the clones serving under them had suddenly turned on the two Jedi.

"I think we've lost them, Ferus.." Jax remarked as he was panting heavily, wiping off some sweat from his forehead. His older colleague breathed heavily as well, looking around, trying to see if anyone was following them.

"I sure hope so... but you can bet that every single police officer here will be after us too. Let's just hope that the clones backed off.." Ferus replied to him, looking all around, even at the dark sky filled with passing speeders, in case if the Republic had sent patrol craft or even gunships after them.

Ferus and Jax had been working as normal at the headquarters of Republic Intelligence, deep within the Republic's military complex on Coruscant. Their evening duties had been cut short, as the clones around them had suddenly opened fire upon their Jedi officers. The two human men were able to escape, albeit having to fight their way out of the headquarters, and retreat down to the depths of Coruscant's Underworld. A few other Jedi working for Republic Intelligence had not been so lucky however, dying while fighting against the sudden onslaught by the clones they had worked alongside with for years.

The two young men had no idea what had gotten into their former comrades. The only thing they knew was for certain, was that the Republic had somehow turned against the Jedi Order, and deemed it necessary to eliminate every Jedi on Coruscant in an apparent violent purge. This was something the two of them had feared for a while now, hoping that dark powers would not be able to manipulate the Republic to turn against the Jedi. But evidently so, their fears had seemed to come true.

"We have to get back to the Temple.. who knows what the clones have done to the rest of us already.." Jax suggested to his colleague, looking at him, and noticing a small smoking wound on the Jedi Knight's arm sleeve. Ferus sighed, rubbing the wound slightly, dissipating the smoke. He apparently had been graced by a blaster bolt earlier.

"If they've attacked the Temple, I doubt that we could do much to help. We have to get off Coruscant, and try to warn everyone else.." The older, more experienced man replied, knowing that the situation was more than a little bleak. Their only hope would be to rally the surviving Jedi, and try to figure out a solution to this problem.

Before his younger colleague could respond, Ferus' personal comlink device suddenly began to beep. The Jedi Knight raised his eyebrow slightly, as he took out the communication device. He took a deep breath, before activating the comlink, after which a small holographic figure appeared from the emitter, flickering heavily.

"Someone is calling by using decrypted Jedi frequencies... it could be a survivor!" Ferus said, his tone lighting up slightly, as a flicker of hope was sparked within his heart.

Jax bit his lip, and came a little closer to his colleague, as the holographic figure quickly flickered, and became more clear. The two Jedi Knights could soon recognize the holographic figure belonging to Jedi Master Aayla Secura. The twi'lek woman looked extremely anxious, looking around frantically, as she spoke into her comlink's microphone.

"Repeat; this is Master Aayla Secura.. is anyone on this frequency!? The clone army has invaded the Jedi Temple, stay away!" Aayla's holographic figure stated, her heavy breathing coming through clearly. Ferus sighed in slight relief, seeing a leading member of the Jedi High Council still alive. At this point, he had no idea just who was still alive within the Order.

"Master Secura! This is Ferus Olin and Jax Pavan, we hear you loud and clear! We've retreated to the lower levels of the Underworld, and are safe for now... where are you located, master?" The older of the two Jedi Knights asked, as he spoke to his comlink. Aayla fell silent for a few short seconds, before her expression turned to pure relief.

"Oh, thank the Force someone made it! Ferus and Jax, listen to me; stay as far away from the Temple as possible, the Republic has it surrounded... our home is burning! You need to find a ship and get off Coruscant, right now!" The twi'lek female explained, the two humans both able to feel her slight relief through the Force. Ferus and Jax quickly glanced at each other, before nodding and turning their attention back at Aayla.

"We'll get to that immediately, master. Will you join us? We need to find more survivors.. every Jedi in the Galaxy is in peril right now.." Jax asked, as he folded his arms, and quickly looked around again, making sure that he was still alone with Ferus in the dark alleyway.

"No, I can see the Temple from where I'm at.. I left only a few moments before the attack began. I'm going to return there, and see if anyone is still alive, as well as find out just why this has happened..." Aayla answered the two, which made the human men's eyes widen, as they quickly glanced at each other. Ferus then looked back at the twi'lek Jedi Master, biting his lip.

"What!? Master, you can't go back there! If the clones have taken over the Temple, it'll be crawling with them! You can't take them all on by yourself.." The Jedi Knight pleaded with his superior, who sighed, and shook her head.

"That doesn't matter, Ferus. I have to find out what's really going on, and this is the only way. Now.. be good and compliant young Jedi Knights, and follow my orders. Get off Coruscant, and find safety.. that's all I ask." She said to the two men, who again glanced at one another, not liking Aayla's plans, but knowing that she had the final word, as she was still a Jedi Master, their superior.

"I don't like this, master... you might be the only living High Council member left. But.. if you're sure, then we'll do as you order.." Jax then replied, letting out a quiet sigh. The twi'lek Jedi Master seemed relieved at that answer, smiling faintly.

"Good. Always remember that as long as only Jedi remains.. our Order will never fall. May the Force be with you, always..." Aayla said gracefully, as she bowed her head to the two Jedi Knights, who did the same, showing their respect for her.

After that, the twi'lek female's holographic transmission ended, the bluish figure disappearing. Ferus and Jax then immediately looked at each other again, as the older of the two put away his comlink.

"I can't believe that this happened... all the signs were there, but we just couldn't prepare for it. And now.. it'd be a miracle if even a hundred Jedi are left.." The younger human man said, rubbing his forehead and letting out a long sigh. His colleague could sense desperation getting the better of him slowly.

"We must have hope, Jax. You heard what Master Secura said; as long as only one Jedi remains, there's hope..." Ferus reassured his partner, who bit his lip again, before letting out yet another sigh, and nodding in agreement.

"Yeah... you're right.. I guess we can only move on, and try to keep our Order alive." Jax replied, to which his colleague smiled slightly, and patted the young man's shoulder assuredly.

"That's right, so let's get to it, my friend. Master Secura will surely gives us a better chance at getting off this damn planet." The Jedi Knight said with a nod, to which his partner also nodded in agreement.

The two of them then quickly looked around once more, making sure that no one had snuck up on them. Seeing that they were still alone in the dark alleyway, the two Jedi Knights then quickly moved on, walking out of the alley, and into the largely abandoned street beyond. They'd have to be fast and discreet, if they wanted to successfully escape Coruscant, while staying under the radar of the treacherous clone army.

Ferus and Jax were among the only survivors of Order 66's initial stages, which was a miracle in itself. The two Knights were surrounded by millions of hostile troopers and law enforcement agents, making their proposed escape all the more difficult. However, in order for the Jedi to have an even faintly better chance at survival, the young men had to make their way off the Galactic capital world. Survival was their first priority, but finding and rallying the other surviving Jedi was their primary goal, which they would get at as soon as they'd escape Coruscant.

Even though the future was uncertain, and completely up in the air, Ferus and Jax had a clear goal in their mind, and they were determined to let nothing stop them from reaching it. The entire survival of the Jedi as an Order, and even an idea was wholly dependent on it.

 **...**

As the morning sun slowly began to rise on Coruscant's Senate District, the tiered docking bay section of the Republic Executive Building was rather calm and quiet at this time of the night, as most of the dockworkers had not yet arrived. The workers' day would likely be made more difficult either way, as the entire Senate District had been put under lockdown, in light of the Republic's sudden attack against the Jedi Temple.

Despite the Chancellor's issued lockdown, a single _CR70_ corvette, decorated in white and blue paintjob, ignited its powerful eleven engine units. The engines quickly gained power, the Corellian-made multipurpose starship lifting off the ground soon afterwards. The ship was named the _Sundered Heart_ , and it was one of the personal consular ships used by the Senator of Alderaan, Viceroy Bail Organa. The human senator's second personal ship was a more advanced CR90 corvette, known as _Tantive IV_.

The consular ship powered up its engines more, as it began to push itself towards the Coruscant sky, starting the long approach to the planet's higher orbit. While the Sundered Heart had only two sets of small laser cannons, it made do with upgraded engines, allowing the corvette to reach immense speeds. Diplomatic ships were usually fast, and lacked firepower, even though many had been fitted with more weaponry to counter the numerous threats brought up by the Clone Wars.

Walking along the brightly lit and elegantly white colored hallways of the Sundered Heart was the ship's owner, Bail Organa, escorted by an entourage consisted of his personal captain, _Raymus Antilles_ , as well as his trusted aide, _Sheltay Retrac_. The trio walked in a quick pace towards the ship's bridge, the human senator feeling his heart pounding in his chest, his forehead wet from sweat. He had only a few hours ago witnessed firsthand, how clone troopers attacked and killed a young Jedi Padawan at the Jedi Temple's hangar section.

"Make sure that our satellites are picking up every incoming message within the Jedi frequencies! We have to find anyone who's still alive, before they walk into this catastrophe.." Bail noted to his aides, as the trio entered the Sundered Heart's bridge, walking through a small doorway.

"Right away, sir." Captain Antilles responded, as he immediately turned to his left, and stepped over to the communications station, ordering the signalman working at the station to correctly align the ship's satellite antennae.

Senator Organa and his aide Retrac in the meanwhile made their way further into the ship's small command bridge. The human representative of Alderaan let out a quiet sigh, as he sat down on his personal seat, his loyal aide sitting down next to him, ready to offer her advice to the experienced, yet tired and rather shocked senator. As they had sit down, the ship's pilot turned around on his seat, looking at his employer.

"Senator, there's an incoming transmission from Senator Amidala's apartment." The male pilot explained, to which Bail quickly nodded his head, always willing to talk to his friend and ally, Padmé.

"Put it through.." The Senator answered, leaning back on his chair, and wiping off some of the sweat from his forehead. He needed to recompose himself, and focus.

The ship's pilot nodded in acknowledgment, and turned back around to face the ship's controls, pressing a few buttons, after which a holographic emitter near the dashboard sprung to life. After a few short moments, the blue holographic figure of Padmé Amidala appeared on the projector, a worried expression on her face.

"Bail, did you find out what's going on..?" The young female senator asked, seemingly having just dressed, and readied herself for the upcoming day. Her friend let out a deep sigh, nodding his head.

"I did.. and it's not good. The clones are slaughtering the Jedi.. showing no mercy. I'm leaving Coruscant to try and find any survivors, and take them somewhere safe.." Bail replied to Padmé, who sighed in response as well, burying her face with her hands. She was clearly distraught by this turn of events, even more so than Bail was.

"How could they do this? It makes no sense.." She said quietly, trying to hold back tears. Padmé had cried a lot already. Her senator colleague bit his lip, shrugging his shoulders.

"They said that the Jedi were rebelling.. but that is completely absurd. Something is very wrong here, and I won't sit back and watch the only guardians of peace and order in the Galaxy to be destroyed like this.." Bail answered, stroking his cleanly shaved chin for a moment. His friend inhaled deeply, able to recompose herself a little, though her expression was still filled with worry and sorrow.

"Have you heard anything from Anakin? Was he at the Temple..?" Padmé asked, having not heard of her close friend since meeting him some days ago. The senator of Alderaan sighed deeply, and shook his head at his colleague, knowing how much Padmé cared about one of her oldest friends.

"No, I wasn't even allowed to enter the Temple. We can only hope for the best at this point, Padmé. But knowing Master Skywalker.. I'm sure that he's still fine..." He answered, trying to ease his friend's worries. Padmé sighed again, before slowly nodding her head, seemingly coming to terms with the situation.

"I hope so, Bail. I will contact some of our colleagues at the Senate in the morning.. I'm sure that some of them will agree with us, that the Chancellor has gone too far this time.." She stated, to which her friend and ally nodded his head again, agreeing with the plan.

"Agreed. Speak to Mon Mothma and Garm... they have stuck by us the longest, and will no doubt see this situation from our perspective. I will try to find as many Jedi as I can in the meanwhile, and get them to safety.." Bail replied, leaning back on his seat, finding himself to be able to ease up a bit, and not feel as tense anymore. Even though the situation seemed hopeless, the experienced senator had come to know during his career, that no problem was beyond repair.

"I'll do that, Bail... Mon and Garm will surely join our cause. Just stay careful out there, alright? We will all need you back here on Coruscant when the time comes.." Padmé said to her friend, who was able to form the slightest of smiles on his face, and let out a quiet hum.

The Senator of _Chandrila_ , _Mon Mothma_ , and _Garm Bel Iblis_ of Corellia, were among the closest allies of Padmé and Bail, having served alongside them for many years in the Galactic Senate. The four senators were among the many who had signed the _Petition of 2000_ only recently, after Chancellor Palpatine had reinstated the Moff Directory, in fears that his powers as the Supreme Chancellor were being used in a poor and undemocratic manner.

Known as "Loyalists", these senators had the utmost desire to keep the Republic as democratic and free of corruption as possible, a sentiment that Chancellor Palpatine seemed to support, but still not doing anything about it. Among the senators of the _Delegation of 2000_ , there were fears that with the Chancellor's growing powers, their careers, if not even their lives were in increasing danger. Padmé, Bail, and their colleagues had often had to reassure the rest of the senators, not to let their fears get the better of them, and instead keep on fighting for a better future in the Galactic Senate, and the entire Republic for that matter.

"You know me.. I always pull through. We'll talk soon again, take care of yourself, Padmé.." The Senator of Alderaan said in a friendly manner, as he gave his colleague a gracious nod. Padmé smiled as well for the first time in over a day, and nodded her head as well.

"I will... may the Force be with you, my friend." She answered, her voice slightly cheerier, and not as trembling anymore. After their exchange of farewells, the Naboo senator's holographic figure disappeared, as the transmission ended.

Immediately afterwards, the human senator sighed deeply, as he leaned further back on his comfortable seat. Bail did his best to keep strong, and focus in on his task to save as many Jedi as he could. However, he could not deny the feeling of anguish and hopelessness setting in on him. Knowing that he could not let his own fears control him, Bail swallowed up his troubling thoughts, and looked straightforward again, gazing out of the Sundered Heart's forward windows.

The Jedi Order was in danger of being wiped out, and the Republic was going down a path from which it could not recover; a path of darkness and corruption. These were things that the veteran senator could not allow to continue, as he had made vows to guard the millennia old principles of the Republic to his death.

Whatever would become of the Republic in the future, Bail knew that it would not be the Republic he had once sworn to serve faithfully and loyally his entire life. His only loyalties lied with the true principles of the Galactic Republic, as well as the Jedi Order, whom he would always view as the sole guardians of peace and order in the Galaxy. They were his greatest allies, and he was determined to do everything he could for them.

 **...**

Droplets of water calmly fell from the wet ceiling of a small cave, dropping on the surface of a pond on the bottom of the rocky cavern. The sounds of the water dews splashing against the pond's surface echoed within the cave system. The cavern was located on the bottom section of one of the several sinkholes, on the arid planet of Utapau. The Republic had fought a bloody and destructive battle on the planet's surface, in the world's capital sinkhole city, wiping out the remains of General Grievous' massive droid army stationed on Utapau.

Suddenly, out of the cold and dark water emerged a human man, gasping for air as he splashed on the surface, having been submerged for a long period of time. The bearded man was Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, wounded and shocked from the sudden treachery of his clone subordinates, who had turned on him, and killed a fellow Jedi Council member, Saesee Tiin.

Obi-Wan had survived the encounter with a few gracing wounds from blaster fire, as well as falling down the hundreds of meters deep sinkhole. The human Jedi Master had spent the last few hours escaping clone reconnaissance drones, swimming and diving through the vast cavern system at the bottom of the sinkhole. It was in a cavern like he was inside right now, where the Jedi Master had slain General Grievous, several hours earlier. Now, instead of chasing an enemy of the Republic within the cave system, Obi-Wan was a fugitive himself, trying his best to flee and evade his former brothers-in-arms.

Looking around to see if he was followed, the human man took in a deep breath, and made his way to a nearby spot of rocky land inside the cave. The drenched Jedi Master climbed up on the platform, groaning as his wounds gave him slight, but irritating pain. Obi-Wan quickly walked over to a rocky wall, leaning on it, and taking in a few deep breaths.

The Jedi Master then sighed, and turned his attention to the comlink device strapped to the light armor piece on his left arm. He quickly pressed a few buttons on the device, contacting someone. After a short moment, his contact opened up transmission with him, letting out a few short beeps and chirps. It was Obi-Wan's astromech droid, R4-P17.

"R4! You've no idea how happy I am to hear your voice.." The exhausted Jedi Master said with a relieved voice, to which his astromech companion responded with a few inquisitive beeps and chimes.

"Listen, I'm in deep trouble right now, R4. I need to get off Utapau.. and I need you to bring the ship to the coordinates I'm uploading to you right now. Stand by.." Obi-Wan then said to his droid, as he punched in a line of coordinates to his comlink device.

He had spotted a small sinkhole nearby, which had a suitable patch of rocky land for his Eta-2 fighter to land on. R4 responded with a few short beeps again, acknowledging her owner's orders.

"Turn off the ship's transponder as well, R4, and make sure that your own transmitters are deactivated. Come get me as discreetly as you can, okay, R4?" He instructed his droid, who replied with acknowledging bleeps again. Obi-Wan knew that R4 was still Republic property, but he was sure that the loyal droid would much rather stick with him, than to turn on him, like everyone else in the Republic had seemingly done.

With a few chirps and chimes more, R4 indicated to her owner that she was on her way to him. After that, the astromech droid closed the transmission with the Jedi Master, most likely as a precaution to avoid Republic pinging the signal, and thus locating Obi-Wan. The injured Jedi Master then let out a deep sigh again, as he looked around the dark cave.

Obi-Wan didn't know what to think at the moment. He had seen his own clone troopers, soldiers who had fought with him for years, ruthlessly gun down Master Tiin, before attempting to kill him as well. Commander Cody, his closest subordinate and a clone that the Jedi Master considered a friend, did not hesitate at all, as he had turned his weapons at the Jedi with whom he had fought side by side almost the entirety of the Clone Wars

Obi-Wan could not think of a reason to the clones' sudden treachery, other than the rumors about a Sith Lord controlling the Galactic Senate in secret. As he thought about the situation deeper, the Jedi Master could slowly began to see the many connections and hidden facts, that he should have been able to see a long time ago. He began to figure out the truth behind the clone army, as well as the claim made by Count Dooku, about a "Darth Sidious" being in control of the Republic, right under the Jedi Order's noses. Obi-Wan sighed even deeper now, cursing himself for not being able to see through the shroud of the Dark Side, and allowing himself and the Jedi to be led into this trap.

Knowing that he had to go on and try to survive to the best of his abilities, the drenched Jedi Master looked around again, making sure that no Republic reconnaissance drone had snuck up on him. Seeing that he was alone, Obi-Wan then began to make his way through the cave, walking towards the direction of the sinkhole, which he had spotted earlier. As he walked slowly, his wet boots squelching on the rocky floor, the Jedi Master grinded his teeth together, gripping his wounded shoulder, which still had the severe burns from one of the clone's blaster rifle shots.

While Obi-Wan's motivation and willpower were at an all time low right now, his spirit largely shattered, the Jedi Master refused to give in to the darkness. He may be the only Jedi still alive, and he was not about to let the Jedi Order's enemies wipe him out as well. He'd move on, and fight his hardest to preserve the Order he had faithfully served his entire life. The Jedi had to carry on, and Obi-Wan was determined to keep fighting to the bitter end, keeping the sacred traditions and principles of the Jedi Order alive until his death.

 **...**

Morning sunrays shined through the window blinds to a dimmed room inside the now largely ruined Jedi Temple. The quarters of former Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker had been spared from the ruthless onslaught the clones had ravaged the Temple with for hours the previous night, with everything the young man had left still being in place. At the center of the small living room, stood the man that had only recently lived there; the newly proclaimed Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.

The human Sith Lord stood silently inside of his Jedi quarters, looking around the dormant living room. He could see all the items and things he had left in place, feeling a sort of relief at the fact that his former living quarters were still intact. Being able to see the numerous trinkets and pieces of scrap metal placed on his small workbench, as well as the few scale models of starships along his shelves made the Sith Lord remember the good things he had had in his previous life, as the prestigious Jedi Anakin Skywalker.

Realizing how these memories made him feel at peace, the young Sith Lord squeezed his hands, and grinded his teeth together, forcing the thoughts out of his mind. His mind had been filled with fear, anger and anguish ever since he pledged himself to the Sith Order, feelings that had effectively made him more and more powerful, but left his mind a shattered husk. Being able to find some solace in his current state of being only increased his sorrows, forcing the young man to push himself deeper into the dark abyss he had fallen.

He feared that anything else would make him weak, and doom his chances of finding a way to save his beloved Ahsoka. Fear and anger were the only feelings Vader was willing to let himself feel anymore, as he knew that they'd help him grow stronger, and not let his guard down. He thought that the man he was before, Anakin Skywalker, was unable to do what was necessary to keep the ones he loved safe. No matter how dark and twisted he had already become, the Sith Lord could only think that he was doing this to help the people he cared about. His fears of losing them overwhelmed him, and he saw no other option than this.

Vader's inner struggling was interrupted then suddenly, as the door to his former Jedi quarters slid open. The young Sith Lord slowly turned his attention towards the quarter's entranceway, where he could see an uniformed Republic officer, a human male, step inside, being flanked by two clone shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard. As dawn had broken, more Republic personnel had arrived to the Jedi Temple, which had now fallen out of the hands of the Jedi Order. Lord Vader could only imagine how some of the Republic's military officers would feel, seeing how their Jedi colleagues had suddenly been proclaimed as traitors to the Republic.

"Lord Vader, Admiral Thrawn has requested your presence at the _Situation Room_ of Jedi Command. Chancellor Palpatine is awaiting your report about the Jedi Temple's capture.." The human officer explained, saluting the young Sith Lord. Vader silently stared at the man for a second, before nodding his head in acknowledgment.

He was more than certain that the officer realized he was discussing with Anakin Skywalker, and was most likely quite baffled as to why he was now named Darth Vader. Most of the common people in the Galaxy had no idea what a Sith was anymore, as they had been thought to be extinct for a thousand years. As the officer stopped saluting him, Vader walked up to him.

"Understood. Make sure that no one enters these quarters, or they'll answer to me personally..." The Sith Lord noted to the human officer in a low and menacing tone, getting quite close to the man's face. The Republic officer's eyes widened slightly, as the man swallowed audibly, nodding his head frantically.

"I.. I read you loud and clear, my Lord! No one will step inside this room.." The officer assured, his voice trembling slightly, as the intimidating Sith Lord then silently walked past, and exited his former quarters. Vader knew that he was already feared, but in order to strike more fear and admiration to his followers, as well as to hide his identity, he'd need to come up with something to change his appearance.

As the human Sith Lord walked out of the quarters, and into the hallway outside, the officer quickly looked around the room, before turning around as well, and walking past his clone escort, stepping out of the quarters himself. The clones followed him out, after which the man turned towards them, and pointed at the door.

"Seal the door.. make sure that no one can get in." He said to the two clones, before quickly walking away, heading to the other direction from Lord Vader, clearly scared out of his mind.

As the officer left, the two shock troopers glanced at each other, before turning their attention to the doorway to Anakin Skywalker's quarters. In the following moments, the clones proceeded to seal the former Jedi Master's quarters, making sure that nothing could get in again.

Blocking the access to the quarters was yet another way for the newly proclaimed Sith Lord to bury his past as Anakin Skywalker. He wanted to wipe out everything about Anakin that he deemed weak. In order to save the one he loved more than anything, he needed to weed out everything that hindered his power, and instead focus on becoming stronger. Even though he was erasing his past, and without realizing it, destroying the very person he had been only a few days ago, Darth Vader could only think about his lover far away, and how everything he was doing, was in order to keep her safe.

He could not see it, but the further he went in order to save Ahsoka, the further he slowly drifted away from her, his bond to her weakening. What the young man had not yet realized, was that the Dark Side would corrupt everything, and leave nothing the same. Fear and terror were slowly eating away at him, knavishly replacing the feeling of love and warmth that he had for his togruta lover.

 **...**

The main entrance to the Jedi Temple laid mostly dormant, with only a small infantry section of clones and police officers guarding it. The entire area surrounding the Jedi Order's sacred headquarters was placed under martial law, and the Republic forces occupying the Temple assumed that no one would get close to the recently captured ancient building.

Walking up the long stairway to the large entranceway, the twi'lek Jedi Master Aayla Secura looked up at the tall Jedi Temple that she had called home for most of her lifetime. It ached the twi'lek woman's heart to see her home smoking, and largely destroyed. Aayla had been away from the Temple when the clone attack had started, having felt the need to leave the building's premises and catch some fresh air, after sensing something terrible happening to her former Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. She now could deduce that her former master was in fact dead, like so many other Jedi.

As she got to the top of the long staircase, Aayla could immediately spot several clones and soldiers up in the distance, guarding the massive entrance to the Jedi Temple, which was largely ruined by countless explosions and blaster rounds. The twi'lek Jedi Master took in a deep breath, before slowly starting to approach the armed group, who had not yet seen her.

As she approached the armed men, Aayla quickly glanced up in the sky, seeing a massive Venator-class star destroyer hovering high above the Jedi Temple. During the nighttime attack, an Acclamator-class assault ship had bombarded the Temple, wreaking havoc and causing massive damage to the ancient building. As morning had dawned, the assault ship had moved away, and a larger Venator-class ship had replaced it with overseeing the Jedi Temple and its surrounding premises, acting as a docking bay for LAAT gunships, that would patrol the area surrounding the Temple, looking for any runaway Jedi.

After a short moment, the beautiful twi'lek woman got a dozen meters away from the armed police officers and clones, who finally spotted her. While the clones stayed back, the police officers quickly walked over to Aayla, forcing her to stop. The human men were seemingly dumbfounded, not recognizing her as a Jedi, and most likely thinking of her being a mere civilian.

"What in the..? How did you get here!? This whole area is off-limits! Turn around, and walk away.. this area is under the control of the Republic military!" One of the officers said in a strict tone, as he got only a few feet away from the twi'lek Jedi Master, who silently stared at him and the officers near him.

As Aayla bit her lip, her fingers moving closer to her lightsaber hilt, that was hanging on her belt, one of the clone troopers nearby decided to approach her and the officers. Noticing that the clones around were part of the 501st Legion, the twi'lek's heart began to race. She hoped that Anakin, who was the leading Jedi officer of the 501st, had survived the earlier onslaught. The clone stopped a few meters away from her and the officers, seemingly taking a closer look at her. The trooper then suddenly jumped back, grabbing his blaster carbine.

"It's Master Secura! Get her!" The clone shouted, as he pointed at Aayla, and got the attention of the other clones nearby.

The police officer right in front of the twi'lek glanced at her, only now realizing that she was a Jedi. His eyes widened, as he and the other officers attempted to back away quickly. Aayla grinded her teeth together, as she then immediately grabbed her lightsaber hilt, and brandished its blue blade.

As the officer in front of her attempted to grab his blaster pistol, Aayla performed a quick but savage slash, cutting a deep wound across the man's torso. The officer fell on the ground, dying near instantly, as his colleagues grabbed their own weapons in sheer panic. The twi'lek Jedi wasted no time, spinning around once, as she performed another vicious slashing attack at the second police officer, killing him as well.

The third one attempted to back away, firing his pistol at Aayla, who quickly deflected the few shots, before using the Force to pull the weapon out of his hands. The blaster pistol flew through the air towards the twi'lek, who cut the weapon in half in midair. After that, Aayla charged at the shocked human man, impaling him with her lightsaber, as the nearby clones were now verging on her.

The clone trooper who had initially recognized her opened fire, at which the twi'lek Jedi was forced to use the body of the police officer she had just impaled as a human shield. The clone's blaster shots impacted with the officer's light armor, protecting Aayla who was hiding behind him. After a short moment, the twi'lek Jedi Master bit her lip, and used the Force to hurl the officer's body away from her with intensity. The dead police officer slammed against the clone several meters away, knocking him down on the ground.

There were three other clones nearby, all of whom had their sights on the twi'lek Jedi. Charging at her, they viciously fired their blaster rifles, forcing Aayla to stop at her heels, and block and deflect the incoming shots. After successfully protecting herself for a few seconds, the female Jedi Master knew that the clones would eventually overwhelm her defenses.

Acting out on blind instinct, the twi'lek threw her lightsaber at two of the approaching clones, making the weapon spin in the air like a deadly boomerang. The blue bladed lightsaber swirled at the two clones, decapitating them both, sending their helmeted heads flying off their shoulders. Aayla then quickly pulled back her lightsaber, as the third approaching clone kept on firing at her. Her weapon back in her hands, the twi'lek female quickly deflected two of the incoming blasts, sending one of them straight back at the clone, who was still running towards her. The shot impacted right under the clone's throat, the powerful and burning plasma energy mortally wounding him. The trooper grunted, falling on the ground, and dying a few seconds later.

After killing the clones nearby, Aayla noticed that the trooper she had incapacitated earlier, was now pushing the body of the dead police officer from top of him. Biting her lip, the female Jedi Master quickly ran towards the clone, who grabbed his blaster carbine and opened fire, at the same time opening a transmission with his built in comlink device.

"Alert at the main entrance! We have-" The clone soldier shouted at his comlink, while shooting at the incoming twi'lek, who deflected or dodged his shots. His transmission was cut short, as Aayla swiftly performed a slashing attack, almost cutting off the clone's head as well.

After that, the main entrance area was clear of all hostiles, leaving Aayla standing silently over the two dead bodies, letting out a relieved sigh. Deactivating her lightsaber, the twi'lek looked around, before suddenly starting to sprint to the left, heading away from the direction of the Temple's main entrance.

This had been the Jedi Master's plan all along. She knew that causing a ruckus at the Jedi Temple's main entrance would distract many of the clones and police forces stationed inside the building, allowing her to make her way inside from a more discreet entranceway. Aayla hoped that alerting the Republic forces towards the main entrance would allow her more time to explore around the Temple, and try to find out just what exactly was going on.

She needed to find out who was behind this brazen attack besides the Republic. She knew that something dark and sinister was at play, presuming that the Sith had made their long awaited move against her and the Jedi. However, she also felt that something was amiss, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. For these reasons, the twi'lek woman was determined to not stop, until she had found answers for the many questions that plagued her mind. She had to find out the truth about all of this, for her sake, and for the sake of all her fallen Jedi brothers and sisters.

 **...**

The Situation Room located in the Jedi Temple's _High Council Tower_ had acted as the main headquarters of the Jedi Council, overseeing the different campaigns of the Republic war against the Confederacy. The room had been built long before the Clone Wars, however, though had been only rarely used prior to the fighting. At the center of the technologically advanced room was a large round shaped holographic table, used for strategic planning of battles, as well as viewing highly secret data pulled from the Temple's archives, as well as from Republic Intelligences was data storage vaults.

The Situation Room was now in control of the Republic, as over a dozen clone troopers, and special forces troops from the Chiss Ascendancy's military guarded the area. Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendancy's navy, commonly known as Thrawn, stood in front of the holographic table, being flanked by the two Dark Acolytes Barriss Offee, and Sora Bulq. The two Dark Side users had joined with their chiss colleague only a few moments before, and were now waiting for the newly proclaimed Dark Lord, Darth Vader to join them as well. Their Sith Master Darth Sidious was expected to contact them at any moment.

As the three waited for a few moments more, their newest ally finally arrived. Walking past many of the clones and chiss troopers, Darth Vader made his way to the holographic table, as his colleagues waited patiently for him. The Dark Lord of the Sith situated himself next to Sora Bulq, as he leant on the table. Admiral Thrawn had a slightly devious grin on his face, as he nodded at the Sith Lord respectfully.

"So nice of you to join us, Lord Vader. Lord Sidious should be with us at any-" The chiss military officer remarked, before being abruptly interrupted, as a holographic figure suddenly appeared on the other side of the table.

The four could quickly recognize the holographic figure to belong to their overlord, Chancellor Palpatine, who was secretly the immensely powerful Darth Sidious. The elderly human man was wearing his Chancellor's garments, still maintaining his disguise as a normal person.

"A new beginning has dawned upon us, my friends. I take it that you've all succeeded in your mission?" The Sith Lord asked, a rather pleasant smile on his face, as he talked in his benevolent voice that he used when holding up his persona of Chancellor Palpatine. Admiral Thrawn bowed slightly to the human man, more than happy to report his, and the entire Republic's success to his Sith overlord.

"I'm happy to report that the Jedi Temple has fallen under our complete control, Lord Sidious. The Jedi defenders were annihilated, none have been able to escape. The Grand Plan has worked to perfection, my Lord.." The chiss man replied to the Chancellor, whose pleasant smile turned into a devilish grin. Lord Vader frowned slightly, as he folded his arms. Thrawn hadn't told the Sith Master, that the only Jedi High Council member present in the Temple during the attack, Aayla Secura, was missing.

"Good.. good. Everything has gone as planned. The Jedi lie in ruins, and the Sith shall rule over the Galaxy once more!" Palpatine uttered, his excitement clear as day. All of his loyal followers except for Lord Vader bowed to him respectfully, the young human man simply continuing to stand around, as he could suddenly feel something off in the Force.

"All of you have played your parts to the letter, and finally, our long wait is over. I will hold a meeting with the Senate later today.. it has come time for a Sith led empire to rise once more, and claim its rightful place as the Galaxy's sole power. The age of the Republic is at an end.." The Chancellor then explained, which made both the Dark Acolytes as well as Admiral Thrawn smile in pride. Darth Vader was barely listening now, as he could feel a strange presence somewhere inside the Jedi Temple, and it distracted him.

"This has been possible only because of your brilliance, my Lord." Bulq extolled the Sith Lord, whose benevolent persona of the Supreme Chancellor faded away slowly, his true, devilish and evil self coming out. Lord Sidious grinned further, as he looked at both Bulq and Barriss.

"Splendid things are upon us all, my friends. Now, I need you three to return to my office.. you will witness our Empire's glorious rise from here.." The elder human then instructed, looking at the two Dark Acolytes, and his chiss ally, who all nodded, and once again bowed to him in respect. Sidious then turned his attention to Vader, who could still feel something odd, but was able to focus in the current moment now.

"Lord Vader, your next task is to head to the Surgical Reconstruction Center. I have prepared materials for you there, with which you can craft yourself a new lightsaber, as well as proper Sith apparel. It's time you take your first step to becoming the fiercest Sith that has ever lived!" Sidious proclaimed to his new apprentice, whose eyes slightly widened for a moment.

Vader had not expected his master to provide him with such means to becoming more powerful and fierce. He did have something else on his mind though, as he bit his lip quickly.

"What about the knowledge the Jedi have hidden in their archives? I need to learn more about Darth Plagueis, master.." The young Sith Lord said, to which his master smiled, and nodded in understanding.

"I know, my young apprentice, but since we now have firm control of the Jedi Temple, you'll have all the time in the Galaxy to explore the secrets of Darth Plagueis, and the Sith who came before him. You will get your chance soon, that I promise to you.." The elder man assured, making his apprentice hum quietly, as he folded his arms once more, and nodded.

Vader couldn't wait to get to studying Darth Plagueis' secrets, but he was willing to do as his master said for now, and he could pursue his own goals a little later. Nevertheless, he was determined to not stop until he had found a way to keep his lover Ahsoka from dying.

"As you say, master.." He answered to the Sith Lord, who smiled again, and nodded, as he then looked at the Dark Acolytes and Admiral Thrawn once more.

"I look forward to what is yet to come. The Galaxy may finally know true order and peace..." Lord Sidious said one last time, before his holographic figure then disappeared, leaving the four people standing alone in front of the hologram projector table.

After the Sith Lord's hologram had dissipated, Admiral Thrawn let out a quiet exhale, as he clasped his hands together, looking between Lord Vader, and the two Dark Acolytes next to him. Before the chiss officer could say anything however, a group of clones suddenly made their way to them in a hasty pace. They were being led by the 501st Legion's commanding officer, CC-1119, nicknamed Appo. The clone commander stopped near the chiss admiral, and Lord Vader, saluting them both.

"Lord Vader, Admiral Thrawn! There has been an intrusion reported at the main entrance! A Jedi attacked our troops on guard duty there... no survivors." The clone officer explained in a slightly exhausted voice, panting ever so slightly. Admiral Thrawn's eyes widened, as he came next to Darth Vader, who could only frown. He now knew what the strange presence he had felt in the Force was.

"She's here.." The human Sith Lord remarked quietly, to which the chiss man next to him bit his lip, and rubbed his blue forehead.

"Who? Master Aayla Secura? She was not here during the attack. Well if it is her, we must scramble all of our defenders, put the entire Temple on high alert! A Jedi Master on the loose is something Lord Sidious will not let slide!" Thrawn said, his tone changing to a slightly panicked one. Vader could tell that the chiss officer was now feeling the pressure, as he had not told his master about Aayla's survival. The young Sith Lord however raised his hand up slightly, getting Thrawn's and the clones' attention.

"Carry on with your duties.. I will deal with her..." The young human said rather nonchalantly., making the chiss admiral and the Dark Acolytes near him raise their eyebrows.

Before they could object, the Dark Lord of the Sith silently turned towards the exit, and left the scene, determined to intercept the intruding Jedi Master by himself. As Lord Vader exited the Situation Room, Admiral Thrawn had to spend a few seconds gather his thoughts, before recomposing himself, and clearing his throat, assuming a professional and straight posture. The near-human then placed his hands behind his back, looking at Commander Appo.

"Right, well, resume your duties, but inform everyone that there is a Jedi Master on the loose inside the Temple. Send more guards to the Jedi Archives; we can't let her destroy all the data that we have acquired now.." The Admiral instructed, speculating that Master Secura would try to infiltrate the occupied archives, and destroy all the secret data that the Republic now had at its fingertips. The clone commander in front of him swiftly saluted him, nodding his head.

"At once, sir!" The clone replied enthusiastically, after which he and his clone entourage left as well, fulfilling the admiral's orders.

After the small group of clones had left, Thrawn turned his attention back at the two Dark Acolytes again. Nodding at them, the chiss man then made his way towards the Situation Room's exit as well, the two Dark Side users following closely behind him. The trio would now make their way to Chancellor Palpatine's office, where they could see the Republic's final nail being applied to its coffin, as their Sith overlord would at long last proclaim a new Sith Empire, and bring balance and order to the Galaxy once more, as had been thousands of years before.

Meanwhile, Lord Vader was determined to find and stop his former Jedi colleague's infiltration of the Temple. The young Sith Lord was slightly hesitant of having to eliminate a person that had been close to him recently, but he knew that no matter his hesitancy, he'd have to fight and destroy Aayla Secura, in order to both keep himself alive, and silence a witness to the terrible things he had done to his former Jedi brothers and sisters.

He was more than certain that the twi'lek Jedi would try to destroy him herself, as he was determined not to give in to his weaknesses, and return back to the light. He had no choice, this was the only way for him to save the person that mattered more than anything to him. And nothing could stand in his way, not even old and dear friends. Anyone who'd oppose Lord Vader, would need to be annihilated.

 **...**

The stomping sounds made by the armored boots of several clones troopers echoed in a small wooden hallway inside the main wroshyr tree city, named _Vikkilynn_ , in the large beachhead city of Kachirho, on the wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk. The squad of clone troopers belonged to the 41st Elite Corps, being lead by the legion's clone commander; _CC-1004_ , nicknamed " _Gree_ ".

The 41st Elite Corps had throughout the Clone Wars been under the command of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, fighting alongside her in countless of battles. With the execution of Order 66, Master Unduli had been among the first casualties, dying on the beaches of Kachirho, when Commander Faie of Bogey Squad turned on her.

The clones' treachery had not gone unnoticed by their wookiee allies, who in a fit of pure rage attacked the Republic troopers. The ensuing chaos had pitted the earlier allies against each other, with both the wookiees and the clones shooting at each other on sight. Heavy fighting had spread across Kachirho, the massive tree cities of the wookiees now engulfed in flames.

The squad of clones kept on marching with fast pace across the wooden hallway, heading towards the last known location of the Jedi Order's Grand Master Yoda. When Order 66 had been issued, Commander Gree had overseen the Republic's operations elsewhere, only a pair of his clone subordinates being tasked to guard the Jedi Master. Not long after the order had been given, Gree had lost contact with the two guards, figuring that Master Yoda had been too much for them to handle. Determined to eliminate the powerful Jedi, the clone commander had taken his best squad of troops, and was now heading to the place where Yoda had been seen last.

As the heavily armed clones arrived to a corner in the hallway, Commander Gree was the first to turn to the left. Immediately after turning the corner, the clone commander was met with two large wookiees, standing only a few meters away. As the clone stopped and raised his weapon, the two wookiee warriors roared loudly. Before Gree could fire, the distinct sound of a lightsaber could suddenly be heard.

Being only able to look down at his feet for a flying second, Gree could spot a small greenish creature jumping up at him. The surprisingly fast and agile Master Yoda leapt into the air, and came down right on top of Commander Gree's chest, impaling him with his small sized green lightsaber. The clone commander could only groan in both shock and pain, as the plasma blade impaled his body. Yoda wasted no time, quickly jumping off Gree's body, and up in the air again. The clone's body then fell on the floor, the severe wound killing him in quick fashion.

The rest of Gree's squad had now turned the hallway's corner, coming head to head with the two wookiees and the highflying Jedi Master. As Yoda leapt through the air again, proceeding to attack a few of the clones, the wookiees nearby took the distraction as a chance to attack as well, brutally engaging the rest of the squad with their bare hands. The wookiees had projectile weapons with them as well, but due to the distance between them and the clone squad, the warriors accordingly decided to use their natural strength to beat down the traitorous Republic troopers.

In the course of only a few moments, the wooden hallways was filled with the screams and gasps of the clones being swiftly taken care of by the powerful Jedi Master, and the two wookiee warriors. The clone troopers were able to shoot only a few bolts with their blasters, all of which missed their targets, before being either killed by Master Yoda's agile lightsaber attacks, or being ripped apart by the physically overpowering wookiees. Not more than a minute later, the entire clone squad had been decimated.

After eliminating the clone death squad, Master Yoda stood on the wooden floor, looking around and breathing calmly, holding his lightsaber at the ready. As the trio could see that no other enemies remained in the immediate area, the two wookiee warriors began to roar and huff at each other and their Jedi friend. Putting away his lightsaber, the short statured Jedi Master hummed quietly, calling his wooden walking stick back to him through the Force. The small green Jedi then looked up at the two tall and intimidating wookiees.

"Quickly we must move. Not long it will take for the clones to realize, that we are still alive. The means to get off Kashyyyk we must figure out, Chewbacca and Tarfful.." Yoda said to the two wookiees, who both replied to him with their primitive sounding language, consisted of roars and growls.

The two warriors were old friends, named _Tarfful_ and _Chewbacca_. The older of the two, Tarfful, was the leading chieftain of Kachirho, having ruled the beachfront city for several decades. Chewbacca on the other hand was a younger, more inexperienced wookiee scout and hunter, having less responsibilities than his chieftain friend. The two of them could easily be distinguished from one another, by Tarfful's slightly bigger stature, and much darker hair. Chewbacca was slightly thin by wookiee standards, and his fur was considerably lighter than Tarfful's.

The two of them had both first come in contact with the Jedi earlier during the Clone Wars, when Chewbacca had met Anakin Skywalker's Padawan Ahsoka Tano on the planet Trandosha's moon of Wasskah, where trandoshan hunters had attempted to kill them both for sport. With Tarfful's help, Chewbacca, Ahsoka and two other Jedi Initiates had escaped the moon, and brought back to the Jedi Temple. From that day on, the two wookiees had held the Jedi in very high regard, as most of their kind already did. When Master Yoda and Luminara had arrived to Kashyyyk in order to combat the invading Separatist droid army, the wookiee friends had offered their assistance without hesitation. They were ready to fight and die by the side of their graceful Jedi allies. no matter what.

"A means of transportation helpful would be. Know of anything like this, do you?" The Jedi Grand Master then asked, to which Chewbacca nodded, and replied positively.

His friend next to him confirmed the young wookiee's answer, as he relayed his information to the small Jedi in front of them. A slight sigh of relief escaped Master Yoda's mouth.

"Very good, Chewbacca. Take me to this escape shuttle, I ask of you. Dangerous the task will be, but reunited I must be with other Jedi survivors.." He said, which made the young wookiee nod in acknowledgment, as he and Tarfful both knew what was needed to be done.

After that, Tarfful quickly looked around, making sure that no one had snuck up on them. Seeing that they were all clear, the wookiee chieftain grabbed his powerful local made blaster, while Chewbacca wielded the traditional and famous wookiee weapon, the _bowcaster_.

As Tarfful jogged past Yoda, taking the lead, the small Jedi Master proceeded to climb up the younger wookiee's arm, as Chewbacca motioned him to climb onto his shoulder. After making his way up the large wookiee's shoulder, Chewbacca then also moved out, following in on Tarfful's lead. The two wookiees and their Jedi passenger then began to make the long trek out of the large city of Kachirho, and into the massive and thick jungles beyond the city and the beach it lied in.

The wookiee warriors had the means of transportation in mind, which could aid Master Yoda in his quest of getting off Kashyyyk, and hopefully allow him to reunite with his Jedi brothers and sisters. They'd have to avoid clone patrols, as well as getting into unnecessary fights with the Republic's army, in order to keep their survival a secret for as long as possible. The clones and the wookiees were in the middle of an all out war, which would give them the perfect distraction to help them escape the city, and eventually make their way to the outskirts of the nearby jungle, and to the mountain range beyond it.

If Master Yoda would survive, then the survival of the Jedi as a whole would be that much more secure. And that was something that both Chewbacca and Tarfful wanted more than anything right now.

 **...**

Noon sunlight shined down upon the smoking ruins of the massive Jedi Temple. Most of the building was still left standing, but it had received devastating damage during the attack by the Republic's clones forces. While suffering some damage as well, one of the training grounds on a large courtyard at the center of the Temple had largely been left unscathed.

At the center of the courtyard grew an ancient, and beautiful tree, which was surrounded by a small amphitheater kind of seating arrangement. The tree had special meaning for the Jedi, as it was the only known Force-sensitive tree in the entire Galaxy. Many of the Order's masters would often instruct their students to meditate beside the tree, as it resonated with harmonic Force energy, which in turn would help young and brash Jedi find their center, and become attuned to the Force.

In front of the tree stood Aayla Secura, one of the few surviving Jedi Council members. The twi'lek female had infiltrated the Jedi Temple less than an hour earlier, causing a distraction at the main entrance, which allowed her to make her way to the heart of the Temple, and stop by the Force-sensitive tree. The Jedi Master had her eyes closed, as she listened to the tree connecting with her through the Force.

Several bodies of both Jedi and clones were scattered across the courtyard near the tree, including the body of the Jedi Order's Battlemaster, Cin Drallig. Aayla had checked the revered Jedi Master's body a moment ago, noticing that he had been killed with a lightsaber. Such a revelation distressed the twi'lek woman, as she could slowly figure out, just who was behind this atrocity.

After a few moments of standing quietly in place, Aayla could feel her heart skip a beat. She sensed a familiar presence nearby. Biting her lip, and fighting against bursting into tears, the Jedi Master let out a long, pained sigh. She didn't want to believe this was true, it was like a terrible nightmare from the deepest depths of hell.

"You should have come to me, Anakin... this isn't who you are.." Aayla said, as she sighed again, and slowly opened her eyes. She turned to her right, a single tear managing to escape her eye, as she laid her sight upon the newly proclaimed Sith Lord, Darth Vader, who stood several meters away from her.

"You don't know who I am.." The human man answered in a low voice, his expression emotionless, dark bags under his eyes giving the impression that he'd have not slept in a week. Vader's Jedi clothing were also heavily damaged and tarnished from all the fighting he had gone through the previous night. As the Sith Lord stared at her, Aayla found herself struggling even harder, not to let her emotions get the better of her.

"I remember the day you came to us, Anakin! I remember seeing a scared young boy, who missed his mother, and wasn't sure about how he'd fit in. I've grown with you, I've fought alongside you.. I've learned so much during the time you've been with us, Anakin! I know exactly who you are deep down inside, and this is not it!" She exclaimed at the young man, who did not answer anything, only squeezing his hands into fists. Aayla took a step towards him, her heart racing.

"Why, Anakin?! Can't you see that this is what the Sith want!? They're using you to destroy us!" She continued, which now made the young Sith Lord frown deeply, and take a challenging step towards his former Jedi sister.

"They're giving me the chance to save Ahsoka's life! Nothing else matters to me! And did you know about the Jedi Archives containing ancient secrets of the Sith!? You keep that knowledge from me, but expect me to trust you!?" Vader struck back, grinding his teeth together in increasing anger. Aayla bit her lip, squeezing her hands into fists as well.

"Those secrets are being kept away for a reason! They result in only death and destruction! You won't find the answers you are looking for in them, Anakin!" She said in desperation, trying to persuade the fallen Jedi, who simply shook his head.

"It's still more than what the Jedi did for me! I was weak when I thought that I could find a way to save Ahsoka without doing what was necessary! If this gets me closer to being with her, I'll do it without hesitation!" The young Sith Lord answered angrily, his regrets and hesitations of killing his former Jedi brethren having slowly disappeared, as the Dark Side had taken a tighter hold of him.

"I promised you that I would help you in any way I could, Anakin. You should have come to me, and not allow yourself to fall this way... the Sith will betray you, they'll never help you save Ahsoka.." Aayla then said to him, knowing all too well how unforgiving and ruthless the Dark Side was. Her own master Quinlan Vos had struggled with the dark for so long, and it had nearly ruined his life. Lord Vader only seemed to get angrier at his former friend.

"It was Master Windu who attempted to execute the Chancellor! And after I saved his life, your own master Quinlan Vos tried to kill me! The Jedi betrayed me, tried to destroy my only chance of being with the person I love more than anything!" He shouted at the twi'lek woman, grinding his teeth together again.

Aayla could feel her heart only beating faster, as she now could both figure out that her former friend Anakin had killed her master Quinlan, and that Chancellor Palpatine was in fact the Sith Lord the Jedi had been looking for. She breathed heavily for a few seconds, before letting out a long sigh, as she then glanced at the Force-sensitive tree near her. She then looked back at Vader.

"Do you know how long this tree has stood at the center of the Jedi Temple? It has been growing here for thousands of years. All the wars and attacks that our home has suffered, this tree has endured, and kept on growing. Even when the Temple was nearly completely destroyed during the Sacking of Coruscant, this tree survived and continued to bloom..." Aayla began to explain, as she took another step towards Lord Vader, who frowned and raised his eyebrow slightly, not answering anything.

"The light heals all wounds, it endures through the darkness, and outlives it by eternity. Please end this, Anakin... climb out of the dark hole you've fallen in.. let me help you come back to us.." She said softer, trying to reach out to the Sith Lord with her hand, attempting to sound as sincere and caring as she could. She truly did care about Anakin, and wanted to bring him back to the light, even if she did feel extremely distressed and uncertain at the moment.

As she tried to approach Lord Vader, the human seemed to think about something for a moment. However, before she could get much closer, the Sith Lord suddenly frowned deeper, and used the Force to call his lightsaber hilt into his hand from the belt on his waist. The young man stared into Aayla's eyes, anger and pain glaring out from his expression.

"There's only one way this ends..." He remarked in a monotone voice, as he activated the blue bladed lightsaber in his hand. The twi'lek in front of him took a few steps back, her expression turning sour, and sorrowful.

"I'm so sorry, Anakin.." She replied, holding back tears. She didn't want to fight her former friend, but it was clear to her now, that there was no other way.

Taking a readying stance, the twi'lek Jedi Master then took out her lightsaber, and activated it, its blue blade brandishing also. Aayla held her weapon close, feeling how her hands began to sweat, as she in no way was prepared to face her friend in a duel. Lord Vader seemed slightly regretful now as well, his frown largely disappearing, as he bit his lip quickly.

"So am I.." The broken man replied quietly, seeing some sort of regret and sorrow from having to do this. However, his expression quickly changed into an angered and deep frown, as he swung his lightsaber once, and brought it near his face, as he assumed his typical Form V opening stance.

As Aayla inhaled deeply, keeping a close eye on her opponents movements, Lord Vader suddenly sprinted forward, swinging his lightsaber wildly, trying to disorient the twi'lek female. The Jedi Council member stood still, her feet slightly hopping on the floor, as the young Sith Lord came in only a few feet away from her, performing a wide slashing attack.

Aayla grinded her teeth together, dodging the attack by jumping back slightly. That only infuriated the already angered Sith Lord, as the human man went in for an immediate follow-up attack, which the twi'lek female had to block this time around. While falling back, the Jedi Master blocked several quick hitting strikes from Lord Vader, as the two former friends engaged one another in a vicious duel.

As Vader came in for another slashing attack, Aayla dodged again, this time moving past the human Sith Lord, and managing to get herself behind him. Able to get in her first bit of offense, the twi'lek tried to hit Vader with a few gracing strikes, hoping to wound him, but not kill him. The enraged Sith Lord however spun around faster than she could expect, and was able to block both of her attacks.

Immediately after that, Darth Vader went on the offensive again, savagely striking at his Jedi opponent, forcing her to once again fall back, and protect herself from his incoming strikes. Aayla knew that the Sith would only tire himself, if he kept on coming at her with such viciousness and aggression. All she had to do, was defend herself long enough, until she would be able to spot a weakness in her opponent's attacks and defenses. While the Dark Side gave a person much more raw power and strength, it also hindered their ability to sense things around them, and thus grow blind to their surroundings.

The two of them kept on dueling, falling back towards the inside of the Jedi Temple, and away from the courtyard they were at right now. The young Sith Lord put in all his bent up hatred and anger, as he tried his best to end the twi'lek Jedi as quickly as possible, while Aayla in the meanwhile did her best to keep the duel going, and eventually tire out Vader. It was her only chance of getting out of this alive, as this duel would only end, when there was a definitive winner. And if Lord Vader were to win, it'd mean the end of his once dear friend and fellow Jedi Master, as he would not allow her to live, after everything that had happened.

 **...**

It was late in the afternoon in the small rural city of Nahee'a, on the arid homeworld of the togruta; Shili. The sun had began to slowly set, as evening drew nearer, several flocks of birds flying overhead the city's buildings, singing as they glided through the air. The rugged, yet reliable YT-1300 Corellian light freighter Stellar Envoy, lied dormant in an open hangar bay inside the city's star port.

While Ahsoka, Ventress and Tana-Rey had been away, the ship's captain Jonash Solo, and his son Han, had spent the prior hours going around the city of Nahee'a, resupplying their ship with both foodstuff and fuel. The human pilot still wondered why exactly he continued to carry the three women and their astromech droid all around the Galaxy aboard his ship. The only reason he could think of, is that he had already grown a bit fond with the young togruta girl, and wanted to help her, despite it being obvious that he was never going to get paid for his services.

The smuggler father and his son were standing outside of their ship, having waited around for a few hours already. As Jonash leaned against a few cargo boxes, once again flipping the commemorative coin he had gotten from CorSec back on Corellia, the metallic doors to the hangar bay area slid open nearby, catching the human man's and his son's attention, who also stood near.

As the doors opened, the two Corellian natives could see their companions approaching, being accompanied by an intimidating looking droid. Jonash immediately raised his eyebrows, as the posse approached him and Han, whose eyes in the meanwhile were as wide as plates, as he stared at the approaching battle droid looking machine. Ahsoka, who walked at the front of the group, smiled faintly, as she walked up to the human pilot, who folded his arms.

"Sorry it took us so long, Jonash. I understand if you and Han are tired of having to wait around for me." The young togruta girl apologized, hoping that her pursuit of her ancestry hadn't made the two humans irate with her. Jonash bit his lip, quickly shaking his head.

"Nah, it's alright, I'm happy to help. But what in the name of Diktat is that...?" The human man asked, pointing at HK-55, who promptly stopped a few feet behind Ahsoka. The assassin droid quickly scanned both Jonash and Han with his ocular sensors, making sure that they weren't hostiles.

"Scanning complete: two healthy humans, the child seems harmless, and the adult male's heart rate indicates fear. He wouldn't dare shoot me or you, master.." HK-55 remarked, as he stared at the two humans. Han's mouth was wide open, as the young boy stared at the droid with admiration, while his father could only raise his eyebrows further.

"Cool.." The boy said quietly, as he admired HK-55's unique appearance. Ahsoka bit her lip slightly, and rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a bit sheepish.

"Uh.. right, well... this is my new droid. He once belonged to my ancestor, and he's now pledged his service to me.." She explained to Jonash, who was still eyeing the droid with suspicion.

"Uh-huh.. and this droid is going to help you how? It doesn't look like a mere protocol droid.." The human pilot replied, looking between the young togruta, and the droid next to her. HK-55 seemed to hear Jonash's words.

"Commentary: You are correct about me not being a mere protocol droid, meatbag. I am HK-55; modeled to perfection in the arts of assassination, evisceration, brutalization, demolition, and all other kinds of delightful ways of murder and mayhem!" The droid explained in a rather proud and exhilarated voice, which only seemed to make the human in front of him look even more worried, while his son was barely able to hold his excitement in. Ahsoka let out a slight sigh, as she rubbed her forehead.

"I'm definitely not going to use him for those purposes... I just need his help in order to get to my next destination." The togruta girl clarified, which seemed to lessen Jonash's worries at least a little, as he sighed as well, nodding his head.

"Alright.. do we know where we're headed next, then?" He asked his young companion, who silently nodded her head, biting her lip again.

"Yeah; HK-55 will help us reach a planet named 'Odessen'." Ahsoka explained, to which the human pilot raised his eyebrows again, as he began to stroke his beard.

"Odessen? I've never heard of such a planet, and I'm at least a little familiar with all the known planets in the Galaxy.." Jonash answered, stroking his beard as he pondered about what planet Odessen was exactly.

Ahsoka shared his uncertainty, as she too had no idea what or where Odessen was. Before either one of them could speak again, HK-55 suddenly took a step towards the pilot, startling him ever so slightly.

"Explanation: Odessen was the main headquarters of the Eternal Alliance, until its destruction during a war between the Republic and the Sith Empire. Informative: the planet's surface is 85% covered in water, with the rest of its surface being comprised of thick forests and mountains." The assassin droid explained informatively, at which Jonash was taken aback more than a little. But before the human man could respond in any way, the droid in front of him suddenly turned his gaze towards the Stellar Envoy, pointing at it.

"Demanding request: Take me to your ship's bridge at once, meatbag. In order for my new master to make it to Odessen, you'll need the planet's coordinates from my data storage." HK-55 added, to which the human pilot could only open his mouth, and look between the droid and Ahsoka, feeling a bit befuddled. The young togruta rubbed her forehead again, letting out another sigh.

"Can you just take him to your ship's navicomputer, pretty please? HK-55 can punch in Odessen's coordinates then, and we can be on our way.." She said to Jonash, who quickly bit his lip as he glanced at HK-55 again, before quietly nodding his head.

"Yeah.. alright. Let's go, uuh.. droid..." He uttered quietly, as he scratched the back of his head, motioning HK-55 to follow him, as he then turned towards the Stellar Envoy, heading in the direction of the light freighter's boarding ramp.

As the assassin droid promptly proceeded to follow Jonash, he walked past the human man's son, who could not get his eyes off the droid. Ahsoka smiled a little, as she thought that the young boy's admiration of HK-55 like a new toy was really cute. As Han walked away from her, following his father and the droid, as they proceeded to board the Envoy, both Ventress and Tana-Rey made their way to their togruta friend, catching her attention. R2-D2 rolled over to her as well, beeping and chirping a few times, as his domed head looked around.

"Darn, now I won't be the only one picking on Solo.. he really seemed to get startled by your new personal butler droid, Ahsoka." The dathomirian remarked, sounding disappointed on purpose, though her togruta friend could tell that she was kidding around.

"If you didn't have such prejudices against HK-55 yourself, I'd be worried about you two teaming up to torment poor Jonash.." Ahsoka replied with a short laugh, imagining how funny and sad at the same it would be to see Ventress and HK-55 driving Jonash crazy. The dathomirian folded her arms, as she too let out a little chuckle.

"Don't encourage me, or I'll be all friendly-like with that droid of yours in no time. If there's one thing I'm not keen on sharing, is the ability to make that scrawny nerf-herder's life miserable.." She replied to her friend, who could only roll her eyes, and smile a little wider.

"Yeah, just admit that you have a soft spot for him, Asajj. You like him, and it's clear as day." Ahsoka said with a wide grin, to which her dathomirian friend raised her eyebrows. Tana-Rey nodded in agreement, as she joined in the conversation.

"Lady Tano is right. Your apparent distain for Jonash Solo is quite clearly a front to hide your true feelings for him, Asajj Ventress.." The voss female remarked, implying that Ventress' feelings for Jonash could be more than what she let on. The dathomirian rolled her eyes, as she started to approach the nearby starship.

"Oh, shut up, both of you..." She said in a low voice, as she walked towards the ship's boarding ramp. As Ahsoka responded with a quiet laugh, Tana-Rey also smiled, which was quite unusual for her. The voss healer then made her way towards the Stellar Envoy as well, R2-D2 also rolling past his longtime togruta companion, Ahsoka.

Before she could get going as well, the young girl could suddenly feel a familiar, yet uncomfortable chilling breeze flow through her. Ahsoka rubbed her arms, feeling the cold air surround her. She let out a quiet sigh, as she turned around, sensing the presence of her ancestor Ashara nearby. True enough, the glowing Force ghost of her togruta ancestor was standing a few meters away from her, a warm smile on the woman's face. As the cold air finally dissipated, Ahsoka was able to feel the warm climate of Shili comforting her skin again.

"Afternoon, Ahsoka. I hope you didn't get the chance to miss me yet.." Ashara said with a smile, to which her descendant scoffed quietly. She had been through a lot more than she had expected, that was for sure.

"Well, I-" Ahsoka began to say, but was suddenly interrupted, as her other ancestor, Kallig, materialized out of the blue right next to her. The spirit of the former Sith Lord immediately took a step towards Ashara, his eyes wide, and his expression filled with shock.

"Ashara!" The man exclaimed as he stared at his wife, whose smile got a little bit wider.

"Hello, my love.. it's been a while." The older togruta said to him in a calm manner, though joy being clear in her voice, as she had more than likely longed for meeting her dead husband again someday.

Ahsoka looked at the two of them, finding it quite heartwarming to see her ancestors still hold such strong love for each other. It made her miss her relationship with Anakin, and she hoped to reunite with the man she loved as soon as possible. As she kept looking at them, Kallig proceeded to approach the older togruta woman, trying to touch her cheek with his hand. To the human man's disappointment, his hand went right through Ashara's face. As he sighed deeply, looking down at the ground, his wife smiled warmly at him.

"Don't fret about it, love.. we'll be together again one day. But for now, we must aid our dear descendant." The togruta spirit told her husband, who stared at her for a few moments more, before taking a step back, and nodded his head with another sigh.

"Yes.. indeed. I will be more than happy to aid Ahsoka in her further training, once we get to Odessen.." Kallig explained, as he and Ashara both turned their attention to the young togruta near them, who bit her lip and placed her hands behind her back.

"I hope you are ready for this, little one. You will need to commit yourself fully to your training, if you hope to become a powerful and capable Force walker. And I won't sugar coat it, Ahsoka... the training you'll receive on Odessen will be tough.. tougher than any Jedi training you've been through." Ashara explained, her voice calm and soft, yet slightly strict as it was clear that she wasn't kidding about this. Ahsoka bit her lip, feeling suddenly a bit afraid. She had no idea what sort of things she'd yet to go through, in her journey to become a Force walker.

"She is right, Ahsoka. Remember, Force walking is an ancient Sith ritual.. so in order for you to train yourself in it more, you'll need to go through some Sith training..." Kallig added to his wife's explanation, which caused his young togruta descendant's heart skip a beat, as her eyes widened.

"Sith.. training...?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly. Ahsoka had no desire whatsoever to train in the ways of the Sith, not in any way. Her ancestor could see her worried expression, which opted him to quickly lift his hands up slightly.

"Oh, don't think on it too deeply, child. Remember, I'm no longer a Sith either. But in order for you to truly excel in Force walking, you'll need to train yourself in some ancient Sith ways, and more importantly learn to use your emotions to fuel your strength." Kallig explained, attempting to reassure his young descendant, who was still not entirely convinced. Ahsoka's lifelong Jedi training had gotten her afraid of allowing the Dark Side to affect her too much.

"Don't be afraid, Ahsoka.. I will be there for you as much as I can, and my husband will see to it that your training will go well. He's much more competent than he lets on, trust me.." Ashara assured her with a small smile, as she winked her eye at her. Ahsoka rubbed her arm slightly, wanting to believe her ancestors, that everything would go well. She was just unsure.

"A little fear is good at this moment, though. You must learn to use that fear to empower you, Ahsoka. When you learn to let your emotions give you strength, you will reach power you've never even imagined! You will become the _Mistress of Death_ , the most powerful Force walker the Galaxy has seen! You will bind the very souls of the dead to your will, and bring fear and destruction upon your enemies!" Kallig then suddenly exclaimed, getting increasingly excited and thus more intimidating, as he took a step towards Ahsoka, his eyes glimmering with murderous passion.

Ahsoka couldn't help but feel threatened, as she took a few steps back from her ancestor. Ashara sighed, looking at her husband. It was as if he had shifted a gear inside his head, becoming the Lord of the Dead, Darth Nox again.

"Darling.." She said softly at him, which seemed to snap Kallig out of his sudden shift of character. Realizing what he was talking, the human man then bit his lip, clearing his throat slightly, as he laid his eyes on Ahsoka again.

"Right... I apologize. Don't worry about your training too much, Ahsoka.. with my guidance, you'll do just fine. And who knows; maybe we'll encounter more helpful spirits, once we're on Odessen." He stated, to which his young descendant quietly swallowed, as she nodded her head. Ahsoka still felt uncertain, but she at least was willing to give her ancestor a chance, despite losing himself for a moment just now.

"I... alright, I'm ready for anything my training will entail. Just point me in the right direction.." She answered to her two spirit ancestors, who both began to smile. Though Kallig's smile quickly faded, as he then nodded his head towards the Stellar Envoy.

"There is one thing you'll need to do however, after touching down on Odessen.." The bearded man said, which caused his descendant raise her eyebrow. What exactly was he trying to say?

"What is that..?" Ahsoka asked rather cautiously, hoping that her ancestor wouldn't order her to do anything she would come to regret later.

"In order to fully succeed in your training, you'll need to face it alone. And therefore, once we reach Odessen, you need to leave your friends behind.." Kallig then explained, which made his descendant's eyes widen again, as her mouth opened. She was more than a little shocked to hear that.

"What..? All of them? What for?" She asked, not wanting to leave her friends behind, even though she understood why it'd be better for her training. Ahsoka still had gotten fond of Ventress, Tana-Rey and the Solos, and would want to stick with them for the immediate future.

"Well, more specifically you'll need to leave the two humans, the rattataki and the voss behind. HK-55 can accompany you, as he's more than capable of providing you protection and food while on Odessen. And if you deem it necessary, that small droid you have can come as well.. but the rest need to stay away for the duration of your training." Kallig explained further, still calling Ventress a rattataki. Ahsoka bit her lip again, not liking what her ancestor was saying, even though she saw certain wisdom in it.

She knew what her ancestor was getting at, understanding that having her friends around might hinder her potential while training, and disrupt her focus. But nevertheless, Ahsoka felt both fear and sadness for having to leave them behind, and venture off in her new adventure all by herself, even though HK-55 and R2 could accompany her. Inhaling deeply, she remembered that she had been alone for months before meeting Anakin again, getting by herself and growing up as a person.

No matter her insecurities right now, the young girl knew that she was stronger than she wanted to admit, and that she would be able to survive and train by herself on Odessen, even if the planet as well as the training were completely strange and new to her.

"You won't be alone, Ahsoka.. we will support you in every way we can, and like my husband already said, you might encounter other spirits on Odessen as well, who are willing to further help in your training." Ashara then said, further trying to reassure her young descendant, who now nodded her head, and let out a quiet sigh.

"Yeah.. I understand, and I'm ready for it. I don't like having to break away from my friends.. but if it's required for my training, I'll do it." Ahsoka replied, knowing that her ancestors more than likely were thinking what was best for her, and what benefited her training the most, regardless of how it'd make her feel initially. The two Force ghosts were glad to see their flesh and blood agree with their plan to move forward, as they both smiled a little wider.

"That's the sort of determination I expect from my family, Ahsoka.. you'll make me and Ashara both proud, I'm sure of it." Kallig said confidently, smiling at the young togruta, who also smiled a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck slightly.

"You'll do fine, child. Now go, and seize the day. We'll meet again soon.." Ashara stated with a warm smile, confident that she'd meet her husband and descendant on Odessen again, once they'd have made their way to the mysterious planet.

Ahsoka didn't answer her ancestor, instead giving her and Kallig both a friendly smile and a nod, as she then turned around and began to head towards the Stellar Envoy. As the young togruta walked away from them, her human ancestor let out a quick chuckle, looking his descendant go. Kallig then turned his attention to his wife, reaching out to her with his hand, wanting to touch her cheek again.

"I love you.." He said affectionately to the togruta woman, who smiled warmly at him, and placed her hand against his, although their bodies couldn't actually touch.

"I know, dear." Ashara answered him softly, her icy blue eyes staring into his green ones, filled with her immense love and affection for him.

After that, the spirit of the former Sith Lord gave his wife one last affectionate smile, as he then turned around as well, and began to follow his young descendant, as she approached the Stella Envoy nearby. Kallig's ethereal body soon dissipated into thin air, as Ahsoka boarded the light freighter, her togruta ancestor Ashara still looking on further away inside the docking bay.

She kept on looking at the Corellian-made ship for a few moments longer, as the Envoy's boarding ramp closed soon afterwards. As the ship slowly turned on its main power and systems, its engines igniting after that, the togruta female's spirit disappeared as well, leaving the material world once more, and entering the eternal and infinite dimension of the Force's Netherworld. In the following moments after that, the Stellar Envoy made ready to leave the city of Nahee'a, as well as the togruta homeworld of Shili behind it, as it'd soon lift off and make its way out of the planet's surface, and into the upper atmosphere.

Ahsoka had her next destination set for her once again, and her future looked a little more clear for now. While the young girl did not look forward to abandoning her friends, and venturing off into her training alone, she did agree with her ancestors that it would likely aid her become even stronger than she otherwise would. And even though she had no desire to learn anything about the Sith or their ways, she was willing to give Kallig a chance, as he'd train her to become better at Force walking. He was her ancestor after all, and she trusted that he'd only have what was best for her in mind.

But one way or the other, she'd soon find out just what kind of things the future held in for her, as she'd arrive on Odessen and begin her training. Though she still missed Anakin more than she could fathom, she knew that everything she did now, would only get her closer to one day living a happy life with the man she loved more than her own life. It was the only thing that kept her motivated, as she desired nothing more.


	20. Chapter 19: Darkness Has Awoken

**Chapter 19: Darkness Has Awoken**

The arid and windswept sinkhole world of Utapau calmly rotated around its axis, being orbited by its nine moons, many of which were in rather close proximity to the planet, being clearly visible on the surface. A large Republic fleet of warships orbited the planet, the massive field of wreckage from the many Separatist ships littering the surrounding area around them; a grim reminder of the recent space battle above Utapau's skies. Down on the surface, the Republic's clone army had battled the droid forces of General Grievous, defeating one of the Confederacy's only remaining strongholds in the Outer Rim.

Hundreds of kilometers away from the Republic fleet orbiting Utapau, away from their prying eyes, an Eta-2 Actis starfighter discreetly flew out of the planet's upper atmosphere. The red and grey colored fighter made its way further away from Utapau's orbit, heading towards a dormant Syliure-45 hyperdrive module. The ship's pilot, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, had initially arrived to Utapau using the very hyperdrive module, as he had at first scouted out for General Grievous' location, before the rest of the Republic task force had arrived to battle the Separatists.

The Jedi Council member was now escaping the planet, betrayed by his clone comrades, who ruthlessly gunned down his fellow Council member Saesee Tiin, as well as tried to eliminate Obi-Wan himself too. The bearded human man sighed deeply to himself, as he leaned back on his pilot's chair inside the Eta-2's cockpit. The red-colored astromech droid docked in the ship's droid socket, R4-P17, had faithfully picked up her owner from Utapau's surface, expertly piloting the Jedi Master's starfighter past Republic sentries, able to avoid detection. The droid and her master had then wasted no time getting off Utapau, as they now approached the hyperdrive module, with which they could escape the star system.

"Keep the ship's transponders offline, R4, but try to find any incoming transmission through the decrypted Jedi channels." Obi-Wan ordered, as he piloted the Eta-2 starfighter towards the hyperdrive module, drastically decreasing the ship's speed. His loyal astromech droid chirped in response, as her domed head spun around slightly.

A small antenna then emerged from the ship's right wing, which then started to search for any and all incoming transmissions. As the Eta-2 Actis starfighter gracefully docked in with the hyperdrive module, R4's searching had already gotten results. After a few moments, a small holographic figure suddenly appeared before Obi-Wan, being projected on the cockpit's small hologram emitter. As the holographic figure flickered for a few seconds, the Jedi Master could then recognize it belonging to the Senator of Alderaan, Bail Organa.

"Hello? Does anyone read me? Senator Organa is that you? This is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi; I've been attacked by my own clone troopers, and I am on the run currently.." Obi-Wan said to the hologram, which now was much more clear and formed. Senator Organa seemed more than relieved to see the Jedi Master.

"Master Kenobi, thank the Force you're alive! It seems that the Republic has turned on the Jedi everywhere.. I just got in contact with Master Yoda as well. He was able to escape Kashyyyk, and I'm now on my way to rendezvous with him.." The human senator replied, to which Obi-Wan let out a quiet and relieved sigh. At least he wasn't the only Jedi survivor, and that there were still people who considered them allies.

"That is the best news I've had today, Senator. Master Tiin was brutally killed right in front of my eyes.. by the very clones that have served under me for years. Have you got any idea about what's going on..?" Obi-Wan asked him then, feeling quite terrible about everything that had happened, as well as overwhelming worry about his fellow Jedi. He didn't want to think how many of the Jedi Order had already died.

"I witnessed firsthand what the clones did to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. All I can say that the situation is not good, Master Kenobi.. but we can talk about this more once you and Master Yoda are safe. I'm sending you the coordinates I'll be heading to.. rendezvous with me and Yoda there, if you are able." Senator Organa answered, as he then leaned over something, pressing buttons that were off-screen from the holographic displayer. A few seconds later, R4 chirped and beeped cheerily, indicating that she had received the senator's coordinates in the ship's navicomputer.

"I'm most able, Senator Organa. But if the Republic is targeting us Jedi.. won't you be a target as well for helping out the Order's survivors?" The Jedi Master then inquired, appreciating the senator's help, but not wanting to cause him any more trouble that he was already in. The human from Alderaan promptly shook his head.

"The Republic was made to serve the Jedi Order, as the Jedi were sworn to serve the Senate in turn. I'm only doing what's right, Master Kenobi.. and no one will stop me from doing what I think is right. I won't stand by and watch as your ancient Order is destroyed, right down to the last child Initiate.." Senator Organa explained, squeezing his hands as he still could see the face of the young Jedi he had seen get killed by clones and Admiral Thrawn back on the Jedi Temple's landing platform. Obi-Wan sighed again, not wanting to even imagine how many Jedi children had already died.

"Thank you, Senator.. it's comforting to know that we still have some allies left in this Galaxy." He was able to say quietly, although he truly felt appreciation for the senator for his sincere desire to help the Jedi. The human man from Alderaan waved his hand off slightly, shaking his head.

"Think nothing of it, Master Kenobi... the Jedi have always been there for me, and I will be there for them as well. Now, if you could make your way to my coordinates, we can discuss about everything in more detail then. May the Force be with you, Master Kenobi.." Senator Organa replied, respectfully bowing to the Jedi Master slightly, who could muster a faint smile on his face, as he nodded back at him in a friendly way.

"The Force be with you as well, Senator. I wish you luck in your search of Master Yoda. We'll meet soon.. farewell." Obi-Wan responded to the human senator, smiling as he then ended transmission with Organa. As the senator's holographic image dissipated, the bearded Jedi Master let out yet another sigh, as he then took a hold of his ship's controls again.

As the six powerful engines of the Syliure-45 hyperdrive module sprung to life, Obi-Wan gently maneuvered his starfighter, bringing it around and facing away from Utapau. The humming sound coming from the hyperdrive engines got louder, and the human Jedi Master inhaled deeply, leaning back on his pilot's seat.

"Did you punch in those coordinates yet, R4?" He then asked his astromech droid, who answered in an acknowledging manner. Her owner then bit his lip, nodding his head.

"Okay, then let's go." The human man said, as he moved his right hand onto the lever that would launch his ship into hyperspace.

His left hand's grip tightening on the ship's flight controls, Obi-Wan pulled the hyperspace lever, the force of the ship's engines launching it forward forcing him pressed against the pilot's seat. The stars around him elongated, as the Eta-2 Actis fighter was launched into hyperspace, leaving the Utapau star system and its Republic occupiers behind.

Although Obi-Wan's immediate future looked rather safe, with friendly senators such as Bail Organa willing to help him and the other Jedi survivors away from the Republic's prying eyes, the overall survival of the Jedi Order was still at risk. He could feel the aura of the Force having changed drastically since the execution of Order 66, the aura of complete and utter darkness surrounding the Jedi Master, rather than the harmonic and pleasant warmness he had felt before.

But whatever the future might be for the Jedi, the experienced and wearied Jedi Council member was still determined and prepared to do whatever it'd take in order to preserve the ways of the Jedi, and their ancient Order. And with the help of people such as Bail Organa, he would have a much better chance at succeeding. While the Jedi were strong on their own, they were always at their best when aided by friends and proven allies.

 **...**

Dozens of bodies of both clone troopers and Jedi alike littered the ruined floors of a hallway inside the Jedi Temple, which was now occupied by the Republic's clone army and police forces. The echoing sounds of lightsabers clashing against one another filled the hallway's atmosphere, as the newly proclaimed Sith Lord Darth Vader viciously dueled his former Jedi Master colleague, Aayla Secura. The two former allies had fought from the central courtyard of the Jedi Temple, all the way down to one hallway at the western side of the ziggurat.

Both duelists were physically worn from the intense fight, sweat having drenched their bodies, as neither one of them was willing to allow the other to land a lucky hit, which in turn exhausted them both. Surprisingly enough, the duel had not caught the attention of the clone forces still occupying the Temple, allowing the former friends to fight each other in peace.

Stepping over the body of a fallen Jedi Knight, Aayla quickly fell back a few steps, putting some distance between her and Lord Vader, who panted heavily and wiped off some sweat on his forehead. The twi'lek Jedi Master took a breather, her eyes quickly scanning the surrounding area. She could feel her heart skip a beat, as the bodies of her fallen Jedi brothers and sisters were a sorrowful sight.

Looking to her left, Aayla could see one of the large windows of the hallway nearby, its glass still untouched by all the fighting. As she then glanced behind her, the Jedi Master could only see more ruins, the pathway beyond being largely destroyed and impassable.

"There's nowhere left for you to run, Aayla! Give up now!" The human man growled, holding his lightsaber hilt tighter in his right hand. His twi'lek opponent bit her lip, holding her weapon tighter in her hands as well, as she looked around for a second. Aayla was not about to give up.

"A Jedi always finds a way, Anakin. Just like you could still turn back to the light.." She responded, which only seemed to further infuriate the Sith Lord in front of her. Vader clenched his teeth together, swinging his lightsaber around.

"Scratch what I said.. I won't let you surrender..." The human Sith replied, as he swung his lightsaber again, and swiftly lunged at his opponent.

Taking a stern defensive stance, Aayla blocked the first vicious attack that Vader landed on her, striking his lightsaber blade against hers. The twi'lek female then immediately dodged the following swings that the Sith Lord attempted to hit her with, rolling backwards on the damaged floor, before getting back up on her feet, and going on the offensive herself for a moment.

Aayla performed a few quick strikes against her former Jedi brother, which the Sith Lord deflected skillfully. After that, the human man attempted to counter-attack, but the twi'lek female quickly jumped up in the air, leaping over the Sith, and landing behind him. As Vader turned around, his opponent immediately continued her offensive, managing to push him back a few feet with her powerful strikes.

The two initiated a blade lock after a few moments of intense dueling. The blue lightsaber blades crackled against one another, as the former friends attempted their very hardest to push each other back, sweat rolling down their foreheads again. Aayla looked deeply into Vader's eyes, whose glare was filled with anger, fear and rage.

"I can sense so much fear in you, Anakin. Let me help you! We can still find Ahsoka and make this all right!" She pleaded with the man, still not wanting to believe that killing her former friend would be the only way to solve this issue. But her words seemed to go on deaf ears, as Lord Vader only frowned deeper.

"The Jedi never helped me! I can only rely on myself, if I want to save Ahsoka's life! And the secrets buried within the Archives will help me do it!" The man responded angrily, as he was determined to do whatever it took, in order to make sure that his lover would be safe.

As Aayla could only sigh quietly, realizing that she could not bring the tormented young man back to the light, Vader suddenly pushed her slightly back with the use of the Force, ending the blade lock. The twi'lek Jedi Master staggered back, breathing heavily, as her human opponent stared at her for a few seconds. Lord Vader then frowned deeply, coming at her again, and continuing their intense and fateful duel.

Falling back away from the ruined passageway, Aayla deflected and blocked the Sith Lord's incoming strikes, keeping up her defense quite effectively. As Vader attempted another strong hitting strike, the twi'lek quickly ducked, before performing a kick against the human man's shin. Vader grunted in an angry voice, as he tried to slash at Aayla, who fell back a few feet again.

After gaining some distance between Vader and herself again, the twi'lek Jedi Master could then suddenly sense more life forms nearby. As she quickly glanced behind her, Aayla could see a squad of clone troopers belonging to the 501st Legion, walking from behind a corner, and entering the hallway she and Lord Vader were in currently. It didn't take but a few seconds until the clones spotted her and their Sith commanding officer. As she bit her lip, the twi'lek female then turned her attention back at her Sith opponent, who was now lunging at her once again.

Vader furiously struck at Aayla again, forcing the Jedi Master to defend herself once more, as she placed her lightsaber blade in front of her. The young Sith Lord managed to land a few powerful strikes against the twi'lek's lightsaber, which forced her to bend herself back slightly. As the squad of clones were now converging on their location, Aayla swiftly dodged one of her human opponent's attacks, slipping past him, and quickly stepping at the nearby window.

Her back against the slightly cracked glass, Aayla breathed heavily, as she held her lightsaber tightly in her hands. Lord Vader turned to face her, panting slightly as well, the squad of clones positioning themselves behind the Dark Lord, and raising their weapons at the Jedi Master.

"End of the line, Aayla.. any last words?" The Sith Lord asked, deeply staring at his former friend, as the clones behind him prepared to fire. The twi'lek Jedi bit her lip, as she quickly looked around, and touched the glass window behind her with her left hand. She took a deep breath, before laying one last look at the young man she used to love and respect as a fellow Jedi.

"Not today, Anakin.." She responded simply, as she then bit her lip again, and closed her eyes, frowning slightly.

She suddenly squeezed her hand into a fist, which made the window behind her crack. Aayla then opened her eyes, frowning deeper, as she then reached out with her hand, the window behind her shattering, and the tiny pieces of glass flying past her, and towards Vader and the clones.

The human Sith Lord's eyes widened slightly, as the deadly sharp pieces of glass flew right at him. Clenching his teeth together, he placed his hand in front of him, protecting himself from the glass with the use of the Force, obliterating the pieces into harmless grains of sand. The remaining pieces hit the clone troopers, who were protected by their body armor.

After sending the pieces of the window at her enemies, Aayla then quickly turned around and leaped out of the window frame, out into the Coruscant cityscape. The clone troopers of the 501st quickly recomposed themselves, opening fire against the fleeing twi'lek Jedi. Lord Vader could only watch as the blaster bolts either missed or were deflected by Aayla, as she began to descend from the sky. A lucky shot from one of the clones seemed to hit the twi'lek in her stomach, though the human Sith Lord couldn't see for sure, as his former Jedi friend quickly disappeared from sight.

As the clones beside him ceased fire, the Dark Lord of the Sith groaned audibly, deactivating his lightsaber, as he turned his attention to the clone troopers. The soldiers glanced at their commanding officer, who grabbed one of them by the shoulder quite strongly.

"Get every gunship and trooper available after her! She must not be allowed to escape Coruscant!" Vader ordered with a frustrated voice, his breathing becoming slightly heavier. The clone he was grabbing nodded his head immediately, reading him loud and clear.

"It will be done, my Lord!" The trooper replied promptly, to which the enraged Sith Lord then huffed to himself, as he slightly shoved the clone away.

"Then get going!" He growled at the clones, who immediately then made their way out of the hallway, proceeding to relay the Dark Lord's command.

After the clones had left, Vader glanced out of the window again, which Aayla has just escaped out of. The young man squeezed his hands, as he sighed in frustration, putting away his lightsaber. He had just failed to kill one of the only people who knew his true identity, and thus risked being exposed to the rest of the Jedi survivors. In order for the Jedi to stay in the dark, and not know who they were fighting against, it was imperative that Lord Vader's identity of Anakin Skywalker would not be revealed.

Hoping that the clone and police forces on Coruscant would be able to hunt down and eliminate his former friend, the young Sith Lord decided to leave the issue be for now, as he'd need to make his way to the Chancellor's Surgical Reconstruction Center, from where he'd supposedly be able to craft his first Sith lightsaber, as well as armor and clothing that would be appropriate for his new identity. His Sith Master Lord Sidious more than likely agreed with him, that in order to keep the Galaxy in the dark of the true identities of its Sith overlords, Vader would need to disguise himself in some way. Right now he still looked exactly like Anakin Skywalker, a face that was known by many throughout the Galaxy, as the young Jedi had become quite famous during the Clone War.

Letting out one last sigh, the Sith Lord then began to make his way out of the hallway he was in as well, as he'd need to exit the now ruined Jedi Temple, and catch a ride to the Surgical Reconstruction Center that was located elsewhere on Coruscant's vast cityscape surface. The young Dark Lord hoped that he would not have to return to the Jedi Temple anytime soon, even though he did want to extensively study the contents of the Jedi Archives for information about long forgotten Sith Lords.

The amount of destruction he had caused alongside Dark Acolytes Sora Bulq and Barriss Offee, as well as the thousands of clone troopers that had attacked the Temple, the young man wished to stay away from the scene of his crime for at least a little while. He was fully pledged to the Dark Side now, a servant of the Sith, but yet he could still remember his past as a Jedi, living in this very Temple. Even if he didn't feel much regret or guilt for his actions right now, as the Dark Side clouded his judgment, the young man still preferred not to be reminded of his past, as he could still remember times of happiness within the halls he now walked along.

In the following moments, the Dark Lord of the Sith walked through the vast halls and mezzanines of the Jedi Temple, making his way out of the ancestral home of the Jedi. Even though Master Secura had escaped from his grasps, Vader could only hope that she'd be hunted down soon enough, or else he'd need to take that task upon himself to complete. Whatever the outcome, he knew that in the very imminent future, the last shreds of his former identity of Anakin Skywalker would be erased, as he'd complete his new persona of Darth Vader with a new outfit and lightsaber.

Though deep down within him, his strong feelings for the lover that he had lost, Ahsoka, were still alive and blooming, as strong as they had since the day he had fallen in love with her the first time. That feeling of love he felt for his former apprentice would likely be the only thing left in him, that would not yet bet corrupted and tainted by the spoiling influence of the Dark Side of the Force.

 **...**

Quiet and rather soothing sounds of medical computers and machinery filled the ears of the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, Ta'a Chume, as she slowly opened her eyes while waking up from a deep sleep. The hapan woman could feel slight pain all over her body, as well as drowsiness. She slightly lifted her head up, looking around the room she was in.

As she looked around, the Queen Mother could see that she was inside a small medical room, presumably aboard a starship of some kind. The room had four medical beds, two placed on each side of the small department. Ta'a Chume could notice a 2-1B medical droid working on a console nearby, as well as a human man donned in a medical uniform, presumably the ship's doctor, working at a computer console as well, near his droid colleague.

The woman could tell that she was not aboard a Hapan ship, as she knew that no humans served in the Consortium's military. Looking down at her body then, she could notice that she had some bandages wrapped around her upper torso, as well as some other medical equipment being hooked into her body, including an infusing needle that assumingly provided her with fluids to keep her from falling too weak. As the hapan female bit her lip, trying to figure out what was going on, she suddenly heard a faint noise to her right.

"Good morning." A familiar female voice said, which caused the Queen Mother's eyes to widen, as she quickly glanced to her right.

Ta'a Chume could notice the familiar face of Kriza Willsaam near her, the young human woman sitting down on a medical bed next to hers. The young Jedi Padawan seemed to have a few bandages and patches around her body and head as well, seemingly having been slightly injured herself. The hapan Queen Mother raised her eyebrows, as she quickly glanced around again, before returning her attention to the young Padawan.

"Kriza? What.. where am I?" She asked the girl, who slightly leaned back, her hands resting on the bed and keeping her sitting upwards.

"Well, we're alive and in friendly company, your Highness.. which is something I hadn't expected when we escaped the battle over Onderon.." Kriza replied to her, her demeanor surprisingly calm, even though Ta'a Chume was able to sense intense stress and sorrow with the young Jedi. The Queen Mother then bit her lip, rubbing her forehead for a moment.

"I.. I don't remember what happened. Did my fleet.. my people.. survive?" The hapan woman then asked, her voice slightly trembling. She could already feel that the aura of the Force had changed drastically, giving her an ominous and uncomfortable feeling. And seeing that she was not aboard a Hapan ship, Ta'a Chume feared the worst.

Before Kriza could answer, the young woman's attention was suddenly caught by something to the Queen Mother's left. Raising her eyebrows, Ta'a Chume then looked to that direction, noticing the door to the medical bay sliding open. As the human doctor nearby turned around from his position, two other human men entered the room.

The doctor immediately stood straighter, and saluted the older of the two men, who was wearing a light combat armor, decorated with the symbol of the Jedi Order. The other man was a common soldier, equipped with combat armor and an _A280_ blaster rifle, which was a common rifle used by the pre-Grand Army _Planetary Defense Forces_. Ta'a Chume could feel her heart nearly stopping, as the older man approached her. She could recognize him as Jedi Master Rahm Kota, her former master.

"Kayla.. I see you're awake at last." The middle aged Jedi Master stated, as he stood next to his former apprentice's bed, who could feel sweat starting to form on her forehead. The trooper accompanying Master Kota positioned himself near the wall, keeping an eye on the Queen Mother, who up until now had been the Republic's sworn enemy.

"Master..." Ta'a Chume quietly said, as she stared at the battle worn human man, who looked back down at her. Kota let a faint smile form on his lips, as he gently patted his former Padawan's leg.

"You and Kriza got real lucky; any moment later, and the Republic fleet might have found you. We picked you two up near the orbit of Dxun.. and have been on the run ever since, treating your wounds." The Jedi Master explained, as he glanced between the Hapan Queen Mother, and the young Jedi Padawan sitting next to her.

The hapan woman lying down on the bed raised her eyebrows again, as she didn't understand what her former master was talking about. She was surprised to have been rescued from the Song of War in the first place, as the last thing she remembered was being knocked unconscious by explosions and debris.

"On the run..? Why...?" The Queen Mother asked, having though that the Republic and her former master were allies in the Clone Wars, even if Kota had refused to lead clone troopers into battle, instead employing his own volunteer militia. Her attention was then grabbed by Kriza, who sighed deeply.

"You remember that severe disturbance in the Force we all felt during the battle? We felt the deaths of hundreds of Jedi.. all of them being killed by clones across the Galaxy.." The young Padawan explained, to which the Queen Mother could only raise her eyebrow more, as she then glanced at her former master.

"What..? How is that possible?" The hapan woman asked the human man, who sighed deeply as he stroked his chin.

"We intercepted a transmission sent to all clone troopers across the Galaxy. I can only assume that the order that was transmitted instructed them to turn on their Jedi commanders. If I had to guess, this was the scheme that the Sith had been planning all along.. their ultimate plan to eradicate the Jedi Order.." Kota explained his thoughts, stress and sorrow clear in his face. Ta'a Chume bit her lip, feeling surprisingly sorrowful as well.

She had lived with the Jedi for most of her life, and the thought of all of her former brothers and sisters being dead made her feel more uncomfortable and scared than she had ever thought. After killing Master Agen Kolar herself, the hapan woman hadn't thought that she'd still feel such compassion for the Order she had previously served.

"But the clones were supposed to be loyal to the Jedi? How could something like this even be done..?" She asked further, not able to understand how deep the corruption of the Sith truly ran. Her former master could only shrug his shoulders, as he did not know for sure either.

"No matter what the method was, clone forces all across the Galaxy have slaughtered our brethren without remorse.. and the Republic has declared many parts of Coruscant under martial law, presumably so that they can hunt down any surviving Jedi. News broadcasters all around the Core and Inner Rim are constantly reporting on this, which is how we know.." Kota explained further, to which his former Padawan could not believe her ears. After spending a short moment pondering on all of what had been just told to her, Ta'a Chume then bit her lip, realizing that she still didn't know the fate of her people, she then glanced between Kriza and Master Kota again.

"My fleet! What happened to my people?" She asked quite demandingly, her usual demeanor of a monarch back. As Kriza bit her lip as well, the older human Jedi let out a quiet sigh again.

"As far as we can tell, only a few ships of your fleet could escape the battle.. all the others were eradicated, and the Republic quickly moved in to assault Onderon's surface. Since most of your navy was positioned over Onderon, it won't take the Republic long until they invade Hapes.." He indicated, which only made the hapan woman's eyes widen slightly, as she took in a deep breath.

"Then you must take me to Hapes at once! My people will need their Queen Mother near them, to defend their homes from the invaders!" She declared, attempting to sit up on her bed, despite feeling pain all over her body. As she hissed in pain, her former master placed his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down on the bed.

"Kayla, you'd only sentence yourself to a certain death. Even if you manage to hold off the Republic forces from invading Hapes' surface with the use of battle meditation, their ships can then just bombard Ta'a Chume'Dan from orbit.." Kota explained, trying to persuade his former apprentice of the futility of returning to her homeworld, and facing impossible odds against the Republic. _Ta'a Chume'Dan_ was Hapes' capital city, and the center of the Consortium's government.

"I have to be there! A Queen Mother cannot abandon her children.. her people!" Ta'a Chume shot back, trying to sit up again, but was stopped by her former master again, who looked at her more intensely, frowning his brow.

"And by being there, you'd sentence all of your children to death! If they believe you have been perished, the people of Hapes are more likely to surrender. You know that the Republic will not slaughter them, if they lay down their arms and surrender.." The man said quite strongly, to which his former Padawan frowned deeply, feeling how tears began to form in her eyes.

"How do you know anything about the Republic anymore, huh!? They've just murdered our brothers and sisters! They've killed our Order! They've killed my people.. my children!" She shouted, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

After raising her voice, the hapan female then fell silent for a moment, as she finally came to realize how big of a mistake she had made attacking the Republic with the Hapan Royal Navy. The Queen Mother began to sob more, as she regretted everything she had done in the past weeks. She felt defeated, and utterly broken. Kriza scratched her neck slightly, as she looked at the sobbing woman. She had noticed that Ta'a Chume had called the Jedi her "brothers and sisters", which was something the young Padawan had not expected to hear.

"They're all dead... and it's all because of me.." The Queen Mother lamented quietly, burying her face with her delicate hands. The hapan woman's former Jedi Master then sighed deeply, as he glanced at Kriza.

"Kriza, help me out here a bit.." The middle aged Jedi Master said to the young girl, who bit her lip, as she reached out to Ta'a Chume, touching her shoulder with her hand.

"Admiral Je'Kyll sacrificed himself to save us both, Queen Mother. He wanted me to promise that I would keep you alive and safe from harm. And I intend to keep that promise.." She said softly to the hapan woman, who was still weeping quietly. Ta'a Chume scoffed quietly, as he continued to sob.

"Of course he'd do something like that... stubborn fool being loyal to the bitter end.." The woman replied quietly, slowly calming down. Her former master sighed again, as he sat down on the end of her medical bed, and placed his hand on her leg again.

"And I will not allow Kriza to put herself in danger, by following you on a suicide mission. For everyone's sake, Kayla.. stay with us, and keep your people from further death and misery. For Hapes to survive.. the Queen Mother must be dead.." Kota explained, looking at his former Padawan, who wiped off tears from her cheeks, as she glanced back at him, raising her eyebrows.

"What are you saying..?" The hapan woman asked, sniffing as she wiped off the tears from her face, her sobbing having ended. Her former master continued to stare at her, as he took in a short breath.

"You need to let go the mantle of Ta'a Chume, kiddo.. for the sake of your people, you must leave the Hapes Consortium behind, and become the person you once were." Kota stated, which caused the Queen Mother's eyes to widen, as she began to breathe a little heavier.

"You're asking me to cast away my birthright!? The people of Hapes need me! They need a Queen Mother.." She responded defiantly, not wanting to give up her place as the ruler of the Consortium. She had ruled them for years, and could not see how returning back to what she once was could change anything.

"If they truly need a Queen Mother, then you should allow them to choose their next ruler. You know that the Republic will not rest until you're captured, or dead.. especially now that they're out to destroy us Jedi.." Her master replied, his voice calm, yet determined and strict, just the way she remembered him being during their time together. The hapan woman bit her lip, not knowing what to answer.

"I.. I can't just go back to where I was before. It's impossible.. not to mention all the things I've done to hurt those who I once called family..." Ta'a Chume answered quieter, lying back on the bed again, letting out a deep sigh.

Despite knowing that the hapan had murdered her master, Kriza couldn't help but feel that the Queen Mother was slowly changing as a person; being cleansed from the darkness that had corrupted her for so many years. The young human Padawan bit her lip again, as she slightly squeezed the Queen Mother's shoulder, catching her attention. As the hapan woman looked at her, the young girl formed a faint smile on her lips.

"If you seek forgiveness, the Jedi will forgive you.. the Light will always win over the darkness. Everyone can be redeemed.." Kriza assured, as she looked at the hapan woman, who opened her mouth slightly, not able to find any words. After everything she had done to her, Ta'a Chume couldn't believe that Kriza was still prepared to forgive her.

"Kriza is right, Kayla. You've done many horrible things since leaving us.. but you know we'll always welcome you back, and help you journey back to the light side of the Force. No one is beyond help, my former apprentice.." Master Kota then said, agreeing with the young human Padawan, which made the hapan Queen Mother grind her teeth together for a moment, as she then sighed deeply, her head laid low.

"I... no.. the Jedi Order is a thing of the past for me. I am now loyal to my people.. my children.." She replied quietly, her voice slightly trembling, as she felt extremely conflicted. Letting out a frustrated sigh, her former master then shook his head in defeat, as he stood up from the medical bed. The Jedi Master then glanced at his former Padawan for a second, with the same kind of look that he had given her so many times before, as he had trained years ago.

"Then in that case, your Highness, think about it deep and hard, if it's a good idea to bring your children even more death than you have already brought them..." Kota said, his tone of voice making it clear, how he was judging his former Padawan.

It pained the hapan woman, as she still felt so very strongly for the man that had taught her for many years, acting as a father to her. The Queen Mother could not look into her former master's eyes, instead looking away, as she fought against tearing up again. Sighing again, Rahm Kota then turned around, and headed towards the medical room's exit. As he got to the doorway, the human man then turned back around, and glanced at Kriza, who was still sitting on her medical bed.

"Kriza, are you well enough to get up and walk about?" He asked, to which the young Padawan quickly bit her lip, as she then nodded. While Kriza had been injured during the Battle of Onderon as well, her wounds were much less severe than Ta'a Chume's.

"Yes.. I'm alright, Master Kota." The young human girl assured, to which the experienced Jedi Master smiled slightly, as he nodded his head as well then.

"Good.. then come with me; we must put all our efforts into finding more Jedi survivors.." Kota replied to her, signaling the young Padawan to follow her, as he turned around and walked out of the room, the armed human bodyguard following in closely behind the Jedi Master.

After that, the young human girl stood up from her medical bed, slightly stretching out, which made her groan quietly in pain. Kriza's muscles must've felt more than a little tired after everything she had been through lately. The Padawan then proceeded to make her way out of the room as well, giving a final glance at the Queen Mother, who was staying behind. As she walked past her, Ta'a Chume looked at Kriza, who gave her a faint smile, as she then walked through the doorway, and disappeared from sight. The hapan woman let out a deep sigh, as she looked down again, biting her lip.

In the following moments, the uniformed doctor working in the medical room left as well, leaving only the medical droid to keep an eye on the Hapan Queen Mother. Ta'a Chume could only feel sorrow and regret right now, as she could finally take a moment to look back at everything she had done in the recent weeks. She finally realized the errors of her ways, how she had done nothing but bring death and destruction upon not just her own people, but the entire Galaxy, including her former Jedi brothers and sisters.

She had forgotten how much she still cared about her former family, the Dark Side having blinded her for so many years. Tears beginning to roll down her cheeks again, the Queen Mother let out all of her feelings, which had been suppressed for too long. She regretted everything; leaving her home in the Jedi Temple to join her mother, then allowing the Dark Side to fill her mind with rage, and make her murder the woman who had birthed her. She regretted waging war against the Republic, and killing one of her former Jedi brethren, Agen Kolar in combat. She also regretted invading Onderon, executing their prime minister Lux Bonteri in the process, and finally sentencing her own people to death, as the Republic had managed to destroy her fleet.

Bursting out crying now, the hapan woman buried her face in her hands, wanting this all to only be a nightmare, from which she could soon wake up. She couldn't put it to words how sorry she felt for everything she had destroyed, and everyone she had wronged. For the first time in years, the Queen Mother wanted nothing more than to go back in time, so that none of this would have ever happened. She realized that everything she had done had ruined the lives of many, including her own.

And now, at the end of her road, the hapan female could only beg for forgiveness, and hope that the Force would grant her happiness. She knew that she deserved to be killed, to be punished for her crimes, but she also hoped that the light of the Force could bring her peace, as had been said by her former master, and Kriza.

After a moment of crying, the Queen Mother managed to stop her sobbing, wiping off tears from her face again. She took in deep breaths, calming herself. She then turned her face to her right, as she looked out of the medical bay's window. The vast emptiness of space calmed her, as she could start to feel some peace within herself finally. Remembering her former Jedi training, the hapan female closed her eyes, calming her breathing even more. She wanted to change, she wanted to be rid of all the pain within her, of all the darkness that had consumed her for years.

She finally realized that her master was right, that in order to give herself and her people a chance to survive, she needed to cast out her shell of the Queen Mother, and embrace her former self once again. And in order to do that, she needed to allow the Force to cleanse her of the darkness, to become a Jedi once more, and bring hope and peace to the Galaxy, instead of death and destruction.

And with realizing this, the hapan woman smiled, as she finally felt at peace...

 **...**

Flying through the bluish tunnel of the alternate dimension known as hyperspace, the Corellian YT-1300 light freighter named the Stellar Envoy, traversed through vast distances in the course of only a few seconds, as it travelled towards its current destination, the lost, forgotten and mysterious world of Odessen.

Within the freighter's main hold, sitting on the comfortable couch that was placed around the ship's Dejarik holotable, was the former togruta Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano. The young woman had come a long way, since meeting her former Jedi Master, as well as her secret lover Anakin, just a few weeks earlier on the human man's homeworld of Tatooine. In the course of a relatively short time, she had gone through so much, learned so much about herself, as well as her family.

Knowing that she was the descendant of a powerful Sith Lord and a Force Walker, Ahsoka felt intense pressure placed upon her, as the spirits of her ancestors believed that it was her destiny to become a Force Walker, as her ancestor Lord Kallig had been. Although she still felt uncertainty about the path she was walking along, Ahsoka was determined to keep going, as above all else she wanted to bring peace to the Galaxy, and by doing so, fulfill her dream of living a happy and peaceful life with her lover Anakin, and raise a family with him.

As the young togruta leaned back on the seating, fiddling with her lightsaber hilt in her hands, she could hear the small R2-series astromech droid R2-D2, conversing with the new addition to Ahsoka's group, HK-55 nearby. She turned her gaze towards the two droids, as the astromech unit beeped and chirped at the ancient assassin droid, who had earlier added Odessen's coordinates to the Envoy's navicomputer.

"Answer: I'll have you know that my _VerboBrain_ was among the top models when I was created. I am certain that my navigational charts and translation capabilities are superior to a utility droid such as yourself.." HK-55 stated to R2, in a slightly challenging manner.

Ahsoka bit her lip, as she could tell that the two droids were trying to establish which one of them was a superior individual. R2 blurted out something in a quite snarky chirp, which made the assassin droid fold its metallic arms.

"Retort: For a utility droid, you sure seem to have a rather high opinion of yourself. I assume that you have been extensively modified by your master.. because your processors are clearly too good for your little dome head.." HK-55 said then, which made the droid he was arguing with whistle and chime back, to which the assassin droid then scoffed quietly.

"Answer: An astromech droid? You look a little small to be an astromech droid. Though I suppose that as time goes by, new models of droids get smaller and smaller.." The droid stated, to which R2 responded with yet another series of beeps. To that, HK-55 let out yet another metallic scoff, shaking his head.

"Appalled response: I shudder at the thought of droids as small as play-balls performing the same tasks as you and I.. some things are just best left untouched. Elated: Droids like me were hard to come by, even during the time of my former master. I am the pinnacle of assassin and protocol droid engineering." The tall and intimidating looking droid responded, to which his new astromech companion slightly shook his domed head, and quietly chirped something unintelligible.

As the two droids continued to converse with each other, Ahsoka smiled slightly, as she then returned her attention to her lightsaber hilt, eventually not picking up anything more from HK-55's and R2-D2's conversation. After a short moment, she could then notice her dathomirian friend Asajj Ventress entering the main hold, having arrived from the Stellar Envoy's bridge, where she likely had checked on the progress of their journey.

Smiling as her friend walked past her, Ahsoka could then suddenly feel a cold breeze flow through her. Clenching her teeth together, the togruta girl could then hear echoing voices inside of her head.

"She has something that belongs to me..." The echoing and ethereal voice of Kallig stated. Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, as she glanced towards Ventress, who leaned on a wall nearby. What was her ancestor talking about?

"What..?" She asked quietly, not sure what her human ancestor meant. The echoing sounds filled her head again, as Kallig let out a short chuckle.

"Your rattataki friend took something of mine from my tomb, child. The aura of deceit is all around her.. I can sense it.." The voice of the eons dead Force user stated in a devious tone. Ahsoka bit her lip, as she continued to stare at Ventress. She then sighed, as she stood up from the couch.

The dathomirian woman fiddled with her hands, her back turned towards Ahsoka, as the togruta girl approached her friend. Sensing the young girl behind her, Ventress turned around, raising her eyebrows as Ahsoka folded her arms, letting out a sigh.

"Show it to me.." She said to the dathomirian, whose eyes widened, as she was taken aback by the request.

"Uh.. what?" Ventress asked, her eyes looking around, which made her togruta friend sigh again. Ahsoka could now sense as well, that the dathomirian was hiding something.

"You took something from the tomb, didn't you? Hand it over, please... you know I asked you not to take anything, Asajj.." She told the dathomirian woman, who bit her lip, and breathed slightly heavier.

"No, I wasn't-" Ventress tried to explain, but as she noticed her togruta friend staring at her, offering her hand to take the item, the dathomirian let out a defeated sigh, as she nodded her head.

"Yeah, fine.. I took this..." She lamented, taking out the ancient lightsaber of Lord Kallig from her outfit's inner pockets.

Ahsoka's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat, as she laid her eyes on the ancient and exquisite weapon. Carefully taking it to her hands, she could immediately feel the aura of the Force surrounding her body. The elegantly built hilt of the ancient lightsaber felt weird in the togruta's hands; it felt as if she had held the weapon in her hands many times before, a sense of familiarity making her a bit uncomfortable.

"I thought I could make some credits with it in the black market... some collectors out in the Outer Rim and Hutt Space pay a fortune for antiquity items like it.." Ventress explained, as he togruta friend examined the ancient weapon. Biting her lip, Ahsoka could then once more hear the echoing voice of her ancestor, whispering to her within her head.

"Can you feel the power that you're drawing from my lightsaber, Ahsoka? It belonged to my own ancestor, Aloysius Kallig, thousands of years ago. Take it as your own.. I pass it down to you now, my flesh and blood.." Kallig's voice echoed, making the young girl's skin crawl. Ahsoka clenched her teeth together slightly, as she stared at the ancient weapon in her hands.

She was unsure whether or not using a Sith Lord's lightsaber would be a good idea, but the young togruta couldn't deny the power she could feel within the ancient lightsaber. Figuring that she could convert the weapon to suit her own purposes, Ahsoka was willing to accept the unusual gift from her ancestor.

As she continued to hold the lightsaber, Ahsoka could then hear footsteps approaching her and Ventress. As both she and the dathomirian turned their attention towards the entrance to the main hold, they could see the Envoy's pilot, Jonash Solo, approach them with a bothered look on his face. Raising her eyebrows at the human man, Ventress folded her arms.

"Something the matter, Solo?" She asked, as the human pilot walked over to a console nearby. The man sighed, as he activated a holographic projector on the console.

"You two might want to see this.." He replied, as the projector came to life, a holographic image starting to form on the floor nearby. After the image flickered a few times, Ahsoka and Ventress could then see that it was a recording of a human news reporter. The human female seemed shocked, though still remaining professional and calm, as she cleared her throat.

"As morning has dawned on the Galactic Center, the _Coruscant Rescue Ops_ have finally been allowed to enter the premises of the Jedi Temple, to quell the many fires that have ravaged the headquarters of the Jedi Order, after last night's assault that was executed by the forces of the Grand Army of the Republic..." The reporter explained, which immediately made Ahsoka feel like she was having a heart attack, as her breathing stopped for a moment. The togruta's eyes were wide as plates, her skin shivering. Ventress next to her also breathed heavier, the news taking her by complete surprise as well.

"The surprising attack against the Republic's sworn allies and protectors, the Jedi, has left many within the Senate question the Supreme Chancellor's motives. While Chancellor Palpatine has yet to make an official statement at an emergency Senate meeting, scheduled to take place later today, a correspondent within the Chancellor's administration has informed that an apparent coup attempt was repelled during the night." The human female continued, as Ahsoka could feel her legs grow weaker, and nearly cave in.

She could not believe that her fears had come true, that something terrible had really happened to the Jedi. The great disturbance in the Force that she and her friend had felt earlier, had truly been the thousands of deaths of Jedi they could feel resonate within the Force. Trying not to burst into tears, the young girl closed her eyes, and squeezed her hands, her lip trembling. She didn't want to believe that her close friend Plo Koon was dead, along with so many other Jedi that she had friendships with during her years with the Order.

Though she also felt slightly relieved, as she could still feel her lover Anakin's living presence in the Force. She had no idea where her human lover was, or if he was alright and safe, but at least she still knew that he was alive, unlike so many of her other Jedi friends and former colleagues.

"Stay with us as we will report on the Chancellor's statements as soon as they are made. A live recording of the imminent Senate hearing will be shown on our channels through the HoloNet-" The reporter then said, before being cut off by Jonash, who shut down the holographic projection. The human man turned his gaze at the two women near him then, letting out a sigh as he could see how shocked they both were.

"Things are getting crazier by the day, eh?" He noted, exhaling audibly, as Ahsoka closed her eyes, her body still shaking slightly. The pilot bit his lip, seeing the togruta's sorrow, which made him slowly step over to her, and place his hand on her shoulder.

"I know it doesn't mean much.. but I'm sorry, kid. You'll get through this.. we all will..." Jonash assured with a soft voice, as he looked at the young girl, who kept her eyes closed, as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

The pilot then lifted his head slightly to stare at Ventress, who was glancing back at him. The two of them stared at each other for a few short moments, both of them knowing how much the Galaxy was changing in such a short period of time. Neither of them had expected it, and neither of them had been prepared for it.

As the dathomirian gave him a silent nod, indicating that she'd take over looking after Ahsoka now, Jonash bit his lip again, and nodded as well, as he then gave the young togruta's shoulder a few gentle pats, before making his way out of the ship's main hold, and back towards the bridge. After the human man had left, Ventress let out a quiet sigh as well, placing her hand on Ahsoka's shoulder now, and trying to get her attention with a gentle rub. As the young girl took in a deep breath, she opened her eyes again and glanced at her friend, her eyes watery.

"I'm sure that Skywalker's alright, Ahsoka. He's not easy to take down... I know that from experience." Ventress assured her friend, who looked at her with saddened eyes, as she let out another sigh, feeling a single tear roll down her light orange cheek again.

"I know that he's alive, Asajj.. but when I try to reach him through the Force, I can only sense darkness..." She replied quietly, to which her dathomirian companion bit her lip, knowing that such a feeling never meant anything good. Ventress however shook her head then, as she patted Ahsoka's shoulder.

"It could be nothing.. don't worry about it. Anakin is more than able to get away from the Republic... this entire thing with Jedi dying all around is just messing with your senses.." The woman assured her, wanting the young togruta to still have hope for reuniting with her lover. Ahsoka appreciated her friend's efforts, even though it didn't help much. But nevertheless, she faintly smiled, as she nodded her head at the dathomirian.

"You could be right.. but the cold darkness that I feel around him certainly doesn't comfort me. And furthermore, I cannot for the life of me understand how the Republic could do this to the Jedi... to just betray so many of my friends and kill them... and for what..?" She asked, not able to see why the people she had worked together with during the Clone War would just turn on her former Jedi friends. Ventress bit her lip again, as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I've no idea, Ahsoka... but I'm betting that there's more to this than meets the eye. At least we're safe here, and once we're on Odessen, we should be under the radar of anyone who might get the idea of hunting down former Jedi like us.." She said to the young girl, who clenched her teeth together and looked away slightly, remembering what her ancestors had asked her to do, once they'd reach their destination.

"Chances are that the Republic and their agents have us both listed as dead in their systems... so I wouldn't worry about that, Asajj. But.. let's just get to Odessen now, and see what comes next." Ahsoka answered, as she found herself become more uncomfortable, not revealing her plans to the dathomirian.

The young girl hadn't yet found the right words to tell Ventress, or her other friends aboard the Envoy, as she hoped that she would think of something to say during the voyage they made towards Odessen. She knew that she would have to tell them eventually to leave her by herself on the mysterious world, as her ancestors required her to face her imminent training alone. Ventress gave her friend a slight smile, as she patted her shoulder again reassuringly.

"We'll figure it out, whatever comes before us. Try to get some rest and not think too much about this whole ordeal... none of this was your fault." The woman assured her friend again, to which Ahsoka let out a quiet sigh, as she made her way back to the nearby couch, and sat down.

"I know, Asajj... but thank you regardless. Try to get some rest as well.. we still have a long journey ahead of us." She replied, as she leaned her back on the seating, feeling her nerves finally calming down. The dathomirian woman near her scoffed quietly, as she smirked and nodded her head.

"By your command, prestigious Padawan Tano.." Ventress replied to her, jokingly bowing to her as she walked backwards away from the togruta, who rolled her eyes, smiling a lot wider now.

As the dathomirian woman then turned around and made her way out of the main hold, Ahsoka's smile faded once again, as her mind was again filled with a sense of overwhelming worry. The young girl sighed quietly, proceeding to lie down on the cramped, yet comfortable couch. She prayed that Anakin would be alright, despite being more than likely in the middle of the entire ordeal surrounding the Jedi, and thus his life could be in danger.

The feeling of darkness that Ahsoka could sense when attempting to reach out to her lover worried her even more, but she knew that she had to have hope. She had to have hope of one day reuniting with Anakin, as it was the only thing that kept her from falling to complete despair. Even though she felt terrible about so many of her former Jedi friends and family having been killed now, she knew that as long as she had hope about seeing her lover again, she'd be able to keep going.

Turning on her back, Ahsoka stared at the ceiling for a few moments, before slowly closing her eyes. She tried to get some rest, even if her thoughts were keeping her more than a little distracted at the moment. The girl hoped that once she'd be on Odessen, she could once again focus on the things she needed to do in order to grow stronger as both a Force Walker, and a person.

Now that the Jedi Order was being systematically destroyed, Ahsoka needed her ancestors' help, now more than ever. She had to keep going, and become the successor to her ancestor, Lord Kallig. With his help, Ahsoka knew that she could become stronger than ever, more powerful than any Jedi and Sith, by combining their strengths and rising above her past weaknesses. Even though she had no desire to become the "Mistress of Death", she was willing to do whatever was necessary, in order to fight back against the darkness that had now taken over the Galaxy.

 **...**

Dimmed red lights gave slight luminosity to a dark metallic hallway inside the Chancellor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center. The mysterious building off-limits to any and all outsiders, except the Chancellor's most trusted allies and servants, was among the tallest structures on all of Coruscant's surface, its peak high enough to touch the planet's lower clouds.

Approaching the end of the hallway and a pair of doors, was the newly proclaimed Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, walking alongside his Sith Master, Darth Sidious, who had an all too satisfied look on his face, as both he and his apprentice made their way through the hallway, knowing what the future would hold out for them. The current Chancellor of the Republic was wearing an elegant, dark outfit, signifying his intend to make himself an even more powerful and noticeable person. Lord Vader's dark and brown Jedi outfit was tattered and badly damaged, showing the scars and signs of battle from his recent assault against the Jedi Temple.

As the two Sith Lords approached the doors, they slid open, allowing the human men to enter the room beyond. As soon as they entered, Lord Vader could notice how the rather sizeable room was filled with items and workstations intended for repair and construction. He could see a few droids, meant for both medical and utility purposes standing around, as well as a fabrication device nearby. Fabricator devices such as the one inside the room were usually used for creating small items or parts from raw ingredients.

"I have prepared this space specifically for you to use, Lord Vader. You'll find more than enough materials to construct your new lightsaber, as well as new apparel and armor. I've procured an ancient holorecording containing hundreds of designs that ancient Sith used for their armor.. you're welcome to look through it to see what you'd like best." Lord Sidious explained, as he entered further into the room, his young apprentice right beside him, looking around with curiosity.

Vader hadn't expected his master to go to such lengths, just to aid him "update" his looks, and further assume the persona of a Dark Lord of the Sith. The elder human man then directed the young Sith's attention to a nearby metallic table, which had several lightsaber crystals placed on top of it. Lord Vader could see that they were all red in color, but the Force energy that emitted from them was like nothing he had ever felt coming from a crystal before.

"For your new lightsaber, my servants have scoured the Galaxy for the most powerful crystals they could find. From a decade's worth of work they were able to construct the crystals laid before you, from which you can choose the one that pleases you the most.. a Dark Lord of the Sith deserves the best there is, my young apprentice." Sidious explained, as he showed the crystals to the man beside him, who felt his eyes drawn towards one of the many crystals. He felt like it was destined to be his, a certain aura pulling him towards it.

Sith lightsaber crystals were usually artificially created, which often gave them the blood red coloring of the blade. As Lord Vader looked at the crystals, as well as the other materials used for lightsaber crafting nearby, he could then suddenly feel his master's hand grabbing the lightsaber that was hanging from his belt. Turning his gaze at the Sith Master, he could see the elder man slightly smirking.

"You won't be needing this anymore... I will keep it somewhere safe. It might not get any use anymore, but it is always wise to keep spare lightsabers close at hand." The Sith Lord noted, as he took away his apprentice's Jedi lightsaber, at which the young human man gazed with a slight frown.

Vader could feel slight aching in his heart, as he had grown fond of his lightsaber. However, he knew that in order to become the Sith Lord he needed to be, he'd have to let go of past things like his Jedi lightsaber and apparel. It was imperative that his former identity of Anakin Skywalker was hidden, as many within the Galactic community could recognize him by his face.

"I understand, master.. I will make good use of these materials. Thank you, my Lord.." Vader said, slightly bowing to his master, who smirked wider as he placed his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"After today, we'll go on to achieve true greatness, my friend. We shall rule the Galaxy together, and bring it to a new age of peace and security." Darth Sidious replied to him, patting the man's shoulder a few times.

After a few seconds, the elder man then took in a quick breath, as he moved past his Sith apprentice. Right now, from his looks alone, no one could even imagine that the pleasant and kind looking Supreme Chancellor would in reality be a ruthless and sadistic Dark Lord of the Sith, who had for decades worked from the shadows to undermine the Republic, and bring about a resurgent regime of the Sith, that would once more rule the Galaxy.

"Now I must make my way to the Senate Building. It has finally come time for a Sith ruled Empire to emerge... the age of corrupt democracy is at an end, Lord Vader. And together, we shall forge a dynasty that will last for ten thousand years!" The Sith Lord assured with a joyous and determined voice, as he slowly walked towards the exit. The young Dark Lord stayed behind, looking after his leaving master.

"As you decree, my master.." Vader answered quietly, as his Sith Master left the room. Although he felt no excitement over the imminent destruction of the Republic, the young Sith Lord was determined to help his new master reach his goals.

The young human was however more than determined to reach his own goals to find a way to stop death itself, with the help of the Force. Knowing that his new Sith Master could help in that, Lord Vader was ready to do whatever was necessary in order to uncover the secrets of Darth Plagueis, and other Sith Lords such as him, so that he could find a way to keep his loved ones safe, most specifically his lover Ahsoka. If acting as Darth Sidious' servant for the time being was the way for him to reach that goal, Vader was willing to endure it, no matter his lack of true loyalty for the Sith or their cause.

After Lord Sidious had left, and the room's doors had closed once again, leaving the young human man by himself, he then proceeded to return his attention to the task at hand. Looking around the room for a moment, Darth Vader then headed for the nearby fabricator device, that also had the ancient holorecording of Sith armor designs placed near it. Knowing that the process of constructing new armor would take time, the young Sith Lord decided to get on with it first, so that he could then get on with more pleasant activities, such as crafting a lightsaber.

No matter how long it would take, the young man was determined to make his new outfit and weapon that would strike fear into his enemies, so that they would cower in fright by only seeing the sight of him. Despite being a prolific Jedi Knight, and later Master only a few days beforehand, Lord Vader would now have to truly become the Dark Lord of the Sith that he was destined to be. And to reach that goal, he'd need to don himself in a powerful new armor, and wield a lightsaber that would be known throughout history as a weapon of sheer terror and strength. Whereas the Jedi were always seen as the sign of peace and security, Sith were known as the sign of intimidation, fear and destruction...

 **...**

The doors of an elevator aboard the CR70 corvette Sundered Heart opened, revealing the ship's owner Bail Organa, the Senator and Viceroy of Alderaan, as he entered the long hallway beyond, being accompanied by the Grand Master of the Jedi Order Yoda, and the human Jedi Master and Jedi Council member Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The trio were flanked by a large wookiee warrior, Chewbacca, who had accompanied Master Yoda as they had made their escape from the wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Though leaving his friend Tarfful as well as his kin behind, Chewbacca had pledged his life and service to Yoda and the Jedi Order, wanting to help them fight against the Republic, and its traitorous clone troopers. By doing that, the wookiee warrior believed that he'd be helping his own people as well.

Master Kenobi had just arrived to the rendezvous point that the Alderaanian senator had given him earlier, the war torn Jedi Master having docked in with the Sundered Heart only a few moments ago, as he and his compatriots were now making their way out of the ship's hangar bay. The atmosphere around the three men and their wookiee companion was bleak and dismal, as the reality of the Jedi Order's near destruction was a hard piece to bite, especially for the two Jedi Masters, who had fought alongside their clone troopers for many years.

The bearded human was also slightly injured, his clothes burned and tattered from the blaster shots he had received on Utapau. Though these minor injuries were not slowing the Jedi Master down, as he was more concerned about the status of his Jedi colleagues.

"Has there been any word from the Temple?" Obi-Wan asked, as he walked beside both Senator Organa and Master Yoda. The human senator was positioned between the two Jedi Masters, sighing audibly, as he was leading the two along the hallway, and towards the ship's conference room.

"When I tried to enter the Temple, it was burning.. Republic gunships firing rockets at it. The clones and chiss forces led by Admiral Thrawn refused my entrance, and I witnessed them ruthlessly gun down a young Padawan right in front of my eyes, just a few moments after that.." Senator Organa explained with a heavy sigh, as he walked forwards to the end of the hallway, turning around on a corner, the Jedi and their wookiee companion following closely behind.

"So we have no idea if anyone got out alive? Anakin was supposed to be at the Jedi Temple during all of this..." Obi-Wan replied, his thoughts wandering off to his former apprentice, whose safety he was extremely worried about.

But more than that, he was worried about the survival of the entire Jedi Order; he felt like he had gotten extremely lucky, surviving the betrayal on Utapau. His Jedi Council colleague Saesee Tiin hadn't been so lucky, being cut down by clone blaster fire in mere seconds. The near middle aged human man didn't even want to think how many others had fallen the same way as Master Tiin; being stabbed in the back by the men who had fought and served alongside with them for years upon years. Seeing Commander Cody, the clone who had served closest to him throughout the Clone Wars try to gun him down without remorse, was what pained Obi-Wan the most about this.

"I'm sorry, Master Kenobi.. as of now, we have no word on if anyone survived the assault. But we did receive something through the Jedi communication channels.." Organa answered, as the group arrived to the doors leading into the Sundered Heart's conference room.

After the doors slid open, the human senator proceeded to direct his Jedi guests inside, as he walked past a sizeable conference table, and sat down on the seat placed at the end. In the following moments, Obi-Wan and Master Yoda made their way onto seats near the Alderaanian senator, as Chewbacca positioned himself in a corner of the room, folding his arms as he proceeded to overlook the exchange between the three men. Leaning forward on the table, Senator Organa activated a holographic emitter placed near his seat.

"Not long after the assault against the Temple had reached its end, this transmission was broadcasted throughout the communication channels used by the Jedi Order." He explained, as he brought up a holographic transmission, projected through the emitter.

As Masters Kenobi and Yoda turned their attention to the holographic recording, they could immediately notice the chagrian Vice Chancellor, Mas Amedda, stood sternly in the hologram, looking straight into the camera.

"Proud members of the Jedi Order.. the war is over. As per Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's directive, any and all Jedi garrisoned around the Galaxy are tasked to return to the Jedi Temple at once. You will receive further instructions as you arrive. This message will repeat.." The holographic projection of the chagrian announced, after which Senator Organa shut off the transmission. Obi-Wan clenched his teeth together, stroking his beard slightly, as the Jedi Grand Master hummed quietly.

"A trap in order to lure uninformed Jedi back to an ambush at the Temple, I presume. Leading clones not all Jedi were, at the time of the betrayal." Master Yoda noted, to which his human colleague nodded his head in agreement.

"Unless they've found out about Order 66, many Jedi will fall for this trap, master... we should return to the Temple, and stop this transmission from broadcasting." The human Jedi Master suggested, knowing that more than one Jedi could likely be fooled by this order. Before Yoda could answer, Senator Organa seemed to have an answer, getting the two's attention again.

"That might not be necessary, Master Kenobi. While there's still a transmission being broadcasted through the Jedi communication channels, it was changed into this a few hours ago.." The human senator stated, as he pressed a few buttons on the holographic projector's control panel.

Both Obi-Wan and Master Yoda returned their gaze at the hologram, which now changed into a recording of their twi'lek colleague Aayla Secura. His heart began to beat faster, as Obi-Wan was more than a little surprised to see the twi'lek female still alive. The female Jedi Master looked stressed out and dismayed, as she began her message.

"This is Jedi Master Aayla Secura. To all the Jedi still alive out there and out of sight of any Republic forces, heed my warning! The Jedi Temple has fallen, and our Order has been ravaged by the betrayal of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Do **not** return to Coruscant, and stay far away from the Temple! The only chance we have in fighting this risen darkness, is to hide and recoup. The light will one day shine through the dark.. but we all need to place our trust in the Force. May it preserve all of you... Master Secura out.." Aayla's message announced, as it then disappeared with the saddened twi'lek's parting words. After the holographic message had ended, Obi-Wan stroked his beard again, letting out a sigh, as he and Yoda glanced back at Senator Organa again.

"Aayla's message is now being broadcasted instead of Vice Chancellor Amedda's?" The human Jedi Master asked, to which his senator ally nodded his head, as he leaned back on his chair slightly.

"Yes.. the recording being sent out to the Jedi is now a warning, all thanks to Master Secura. As far as we can tell, the Republic has yet to uncover this.." Senator Organa replied, after which Master Yoda hummed again, a troubled look on his face.

"Stay hidden forever, this change will not. But enough to save a few Jedi it is perhaps.." The Jedi Grand Master noted, his fellow Jedi Council member Obi-Wan clenching his teeth together again.

"So what will we do now, master? We can't return to Coruscant under these circumstances, and we've no idea about where other Jedi survivors are located.." He said to the old and experienced Jedi, whose face was showing the signs of years of conflict and hardships, only increased by the recent horrible events.

The small green Jedi stayed silent for a moment, as he deeply thought about the situation, while Obi-Wan and Senator Organa quickly glance at each other again. After a short moment, Master Yoda took a short breath, before speaking again.

"Into exile we must go, Obi-Wan. Find new strength in the Force we must, and rebuild our Order in secret. To our ancient home we must go.. Tython our destination will be..." He stated, which made the human Jedi Master's eyes widen slightly. Obi-Wan hadn't even thought about the option of seeking refuge on Tython; the ancient homeworld of the Jedi Order, which had been abandoned for over a thousand years.

"I hadn't even imagined... could we really return to Tython? Is there any place left there for us to inhabit? And what about all the Jedi still alive out there..? We have to tell them about Tython as well, if that's where we're headed, master.." The bearded Jedi Master asked, as he leaned slightly forward on his chair, the Jedi Order's Grand Master now stroking his chin a bit.

"Likely that the old Jedi Temple still somewhat intact is. With help, reconstructing it possible could be.." Yoda answered, referring to the Jedi Temple that was built during the Cold War between the Republic and the Sith Empire, more than three thousand years before. Although abandoned for more than a millennia, it was possible that the Temple still stood where it was left, decayed, but mostly intact.

"It sounds like a worthy goal, master.. but we don't have the resources to reconstruct an ancient Jedi Temple." Obi-Wan noted, knowing that he and Yoda alone couldn't do anything about rebuilding a structure like the temple on Tython. Senator Organa cleared his throat slightly then, a faint smile on his face as the two Jedi glanced at him.

"I can help with that, absolutely. There are still those of us within the Senate that value the Jedi, Master Kenobi. It'd be an honor for us to help the Order in any way we can.. and if that means providing you with the resources and means to reconstruct your home, then so be it." The Senator of Alderaan assured, to which the human Jedi Master let out a slightly relieved sigh, as he nodded his head.

"I appreciate that, Senator Organa.. however, if you were to help us, it'd have to be extremely discreet. I'm sure that the Chancellor will have more eyes on you now than ever, considering that it's no secret that you have supported the Jedi for a long time.." Obi-Wan replied to him, to which the senator let out a quiet chuckle, as he nodded in agreement.

"Indeed.. though I suppose that the entire Senate will be under strict scrutiny in the near future... there is no way that the Chancellor won't use this supposed 'Jedi rebellion' to his advantage. But leave the details to me, Master Kenobi... I promise you that I'll get you the help you need on Tython.." He assured further, making the human Jedi bite his lip, as he quickly glanced at Master Yoda for validation. The old Grand Master of the Order silently nodded his head, looking back at Obi-Wan.

"Trust in our allies we should, Obi-Wan. Important it is to remember, that alone we are not in this universe. Any help we can get from Senator Organa, we should take.." Yoda told his fellow Jedi Council member, who took in a deep breath, as he then nodded again, looking back at Bail.

"I can't argue with that. Senator.. we'd be honored to have your support, once we reach Tython, and locate our order's ancient home." He said to the Senator of Alderaan, who smiled wider, and slightly bowed his head to the two prestigious Jedi Masters.

"It'll be my pleasure, Master Kenobi and Yoda. And you can count on the support of other likeminded senators and officials within the Republic as well. We won't abandon you after a crime like this has been committed. We are in this together.." The human man declared, bringing a feel of security to the two Jedi, who were relieved to see that they still had the support of people sympathetic to their Order.

"Thank you, Senator. The Jedi Order might still survive because of your continuous support for us. Needless to say, we won't forget your kindness.." Obi-Wan answered, thankful to know that there still were people he could trust. As a response, Senator Organa simply smiled, and gave the Jedi Master a friendly nod, as he then placed his hands on the conference table.

"I'm glad that we have reached a decision then. I will set our course to Tython, and make some arrangements necessary to get you the help and resources you need to rebuilding the Jedi Order. And you needn't worry about the Chancellor finding out.. I am certainly not the only one within the government, that still has respect for the Jedi.." He said in a more joyous voice now, the mood and atmosphere within the conference room having been lifted up slightly.

As Bail proceeded to stand up on his chair, intending to leave for the Sundered Heart's bridge, and set the ship's course for the ancient Jedi homeworld, the loudspeakers of the conference room's intercom system suddenly came to life, Captain Raymus Antilles' voice coming through them.

"Senator, there's an urgent message being transmitted through the Jedi communication channels.. it's from a survivor, sir!" The officer announced through the intercom, which made both Bail's and Obi-Wan raise their eyebrows. The Senator of Alderaan's eyes widened, as he quickly sat back down on his seat.

"Put it through to the conference room at once, Raymus!" He ordered, as he leaned slightly forward on the chair. Obi-Wan could feel his heart beat faster, as he quickly glanced at Master Yoda, who clutched his wooden walking stick near his body. The Jedi Masters were both anxious to find out who was trying to establish contact.

In the following moments the holographic projector sprung to life again, as the live broadcast begun to be transmitted. The holographic image of a person quickly formed and became clear, allowing Obi-Wan and Yoda to recognize a familiar togruta female's face and upper body being displayed. It was their fellow Jedi Council member, Master _Shaak Ti_. The female Jedi Master looked tired and weary, injuries visible on her face and neck.

"This is Jedi Master Shaak Ti.. is anyone out there?" She asked in an exhausted voice. Obi-Wan bit his lip and frowned slightly, as he could see that his Jedi colleague was inside the cockpit of a starfighter. Judging from her visible injuries, the togruta female was likely on the run from Republic forces, that had turned on her.

"Master Ti!? Can you hear us? This is Senator Organa of the Alderaan system. I'm here with Master Kenobi and Yoda.. I rescued them after clone forces turned on them. What is your status?" Senator Organa asked, as Obi-Wan and Yoda quickly glanced at each other again, and then at their fellow Jedi Master, who let out a long and relieved sigh.

"I came under attack from clone forces in _Tipoca City_.. I was overseeing the latest batch of trainees, when some security troopers opened fire. I managed to fight them off, and steal a starfighter, but Republic ships opened fire on me, once I made it to Kamino's orbit.." Shaak Ti explained, before she was suddenly interrupted by a slight surge of electricity shooting out of a small panel right next to her. After regaining her composure, the injured togruta spoke up again.

"I think that they are under the impression that I was killed.. they managed to disable my ship, and I'm now stranded, floating around the planet's orbit..." The Jedi Master then said, to which Obi-Wan quickly bit his lip, as he was relieved to see another one of the Order survive Order 66, though he also felt worried about Shaak Ti being stranded and defenseless now.

"Can you send us your coordinates? We will come and pick you up, Master Ti." Bail then asked, pressing a few buttons on the small set of controls near him on the table, trying to triangulate the Jedi Master's location. After a short moment of coughing heavily, the weakened togruta then nodded her head.

"Yes.. I'm sending my coordinates to you now. But the Republic fleet around Kamino might pick up my transmissions, and it won't take them long to locate my ship in that case.." She answered, warning about the danger of getting caught, to which the human senator sighed, and nodded in understanding.

"I understand completely. We will get there posthaste.. just hang on, Master Ti." He replied, after which the togruta Jedi Master sighed as well, before sending through her coordinates to the Sundered Heart.

"Coordinates sent.. good luck, Senator Organa. And Master Kenobi and Yoda; may the Force be with you both.." Shaak Ti stated in a quieter voice, relief clearly displayed on her face now, as she too could see that not all the Jedi had yet been wiped out. Both Master Yoda and Obi-Wan gave their Jedi colleague a slight bow with their heads, the human man faintly smiling at her, trying to ease the injured female's worries.

"The Force is with you as well, Shaak Ti. We will see you soon.. just hang on." He assured, to which the togruta Jedi Master could faintly smile as a response, before abruptly ending the transmission.

After the Jedi Master's holographic transmission ended, Senator Organa immediately stood up from his seat, and took in a deep breath, as he gave a quick glance at the two Jedi near him. He bowed his head to them, after which he begun to head towards the room's exit.

"I will set a course for Kamino at once, Masters. With luck, we'll be able to rescue Master Ti in time. Feel free to make use of Sundered Heart's commodities in the meanwhile. And Master Kenobi, I've notified the ship's medical team to prepare to treat your wounds... it will come in handy now anyway, as Master Ti will require medical assistance as well." The human man explained, as he stepped over to the doorway.

Master Yoda silently gave a friendly nod to the senator, while Obi-Wan bit his lip again, clutching at his clothes, only now remembering the wounds he had suffered on the hands of his clone troopers on Utapau.

"Thank you, Senator.. I suppose that a checkup wouldn't hurt, considering that I was shot a few times.." The human Jedi Master jokingly noted with a slight chuckle, knowing that his injuries weren't severe, but still in need of treatment. Bail courteously bowed his head again at Obi-Wan, before he proceeded to exit the conference room, and make his way through the hallway beyond.

After Senator Organa had felt, Obi-Wan took in a few deep breaths, as he leaned back on the comfortable chair he was sitting on. He glanced over at Master Yoda, who had been silent for a short while now. The wookiee warrior Chewbacca let out a few calm roars and growls, speaking in the wookiee language of _Shyriiwook_. The bearded human hummed quietly, after hearing the wookiee talk.

"Chewbacca is right, master. The fact that the Sith waited for the Jedi to be spread around the Galaxy, before executing this monstrous plan is too convenient to be a coincidence. I'm convinced that the entire war we fought for years was simply part of their plan.. how else could the clones turn on us so willingly?" Obi-Wan asked the Grand Master of the Order, who let out an audible sigh, shaking his head slowly.

"Blinded by the Dark Side we all were, Obi-Wan. Blinded to the fact that the shroud of the Sith control over the Chancellor and the Senate had..." Yoda lamented quietly, the pain of being fooled so severely visible on the small Jedi Master's face.

Obi-Wan shared his old friend's pain, not wanting to believe that so many of their Jedi brothers and sisters were now dead, all because of the Sith managing to trick them along with the entire Galaxy, with severe and fatal consequences, as well as billions of casualties.

"I only wish it didn't have to take so many lives of innocent Jedi, in order for us to figure it out, master.." He replied with a quiet voice, as he then sighed deeply, and slowly got up from his seat. Hissing in slight pain, Obi-Wan finally could feel his injuries creeping up on him.

"It seems that I should make use of the good senator's offer for medical assistance. I doubt that my injuries will heal by themselves.." The human man said with a faint chuckle, trying to lift the mood ever so slightly. His fellow Jedi Master gave him a quick nod, although Obi-Wan could tell that Master Yoda had a serious look on his face still.

"Rest and clear your mind you should, Obi-Wan... still sense your discomfort and worries about your former student, I do." The Jedi Grand Master suggested, to which his human colleague bit his lip.

Obi-Wan couldn't deny how afraid he felt about Anakin being among the victims of Order 66, and that it had an influence over his thoughts. However, he knew that in order to be most helpful for the few surviving Jedi that were on the run, as well as the Order's newfound allies, he needed to let go of his fears and worries, and fully focus in on the task at hand. A clear and focused mind was a Jedi's greatest ally.

"If you say so, master. Let's just hope that more Jedi turn up, so that we can start rebuilding our Order. The Republic will surely not hold back and will instead continue to hunt us down.. so we must keep our eye out.." Obi-Wan answered to the small green Jedi, who nodded his head in return, agreeing.

"You are right, Obi-Wan. Meditate on this I will... perhaps the Force will provide us the answers we seek, and guide us in our search of a new future." Yoda replied, to which the bearded human Jedi Master let out a quiet sigh again, as he nodded in agreement as well.

"Let us hope so, Master Yoda. May the Force be with us.. and with all the Jedi who still face danger..." He stated quietly, wishing that Master Shaak Ti wouldn't be the only other Jedi they were able to find, and possibly save.

With that, the human man then gave the Grand Master a polite bow, as he turned towards the door, and headed out, making his way towards the Sundered Heart's small medical bay. As Obi-Wan made his way out, Master Yoda stayed sitting on his chair, humming quietly to himself, as he centered himself in deep thought. The wookiee warrior Chewbacca folded his arms, as he decided to stay as well, keeping company to the small Jedi Master, even though the two wouldn't have much interaction, as Master Yoda would begin his meditation in a moment.

Although the future of the Jedi Order was still in question, as more Knights, Padawans and Masters were bound to continue to fall victims of Order 66, they now had a slim chance of surviving, and possibly revitalizing their ancient order. With influential people like Bail Organa, as well as other senators within the Galactic Senate, the Jedi had a chance of recruiting some powerful individuals to help their cause. Many of the pro-Jedi senators represented worlds with influence, and independent militaries, which were bound to come in handy, should a confrontation with the Republic arise. However, it still remained to be seen, which senators and their worlds would join in on Senator Organa's mission.

In any case, the Jedi Order was not completely doomed to destruction anymore, as their allies would no doubt ramp up their efforts in finding and protecting survivors of Order 66. They weren't out of danger yet, but now they at least had a chance, which was something that both Obi-Wan and Master Yoda were more than happy to take. Right now, they were ready to take any positive news, however meager as they'd be. It would take years, if not decades to rebuild the Jedi Order, but at the very least it now had the chance to do so, albeit in secret and out of sight of the now treacherous and increasingly authoritarian Galactic Republic.

 **...**

Morning sunlight shined through the thick forestry on the remote planet Odessen, located deep within the Unknown Regions. Untouched by civilization for thousands of years, the location and existence of the planet had long been a secret to the majority of the Galactic populace. Once the headquarters of the Eternal Alliance led by the former Sith Lord Kallig, Odessen was now an empty terrestrial planet, overgrown with thick forests and mountains. The planet's vast oceans and forests gave the atmosphere a pleasant freshness to it, something a citizen of an ecumenopolis like Coruscant would never have come across before.

In a clearing deep within a thick forest, near a large mountain range, the Corellian YT-1300 freighter Stellar Envoy resided silently on the grassy ground, its engines turned off and its boarding ramp lowered. The ship had only a few moments ago landed on the mysterious planet, its passengers now disembarking it via the boarding ramp.

Ahsoka stepped out of the Envoy first, her feet touching the ground, as she slowly looked around, scanning the surrounding forested area with her eyes. Her dathomirian friend and companion Asajj Ventress followed closely behind her, stopping next to the young togruta, as she too looked around, placing her hands on her waist. The astromech droid R2-D2 also rolled down the ship's boarding ramp, chirping cheerily as his dome head spun around. Behind the droid walked the voss healer Tana-Rey, who joined in with the two other women already on the ground.

"Well, we're here now.. sure took a long journey to get to this place. Doesn't look all that impressive, don't you think?" Ventress stated, as she looked around, after which she glanced at her togruta friend, who bit her lip.

Ahsoka could definitely feel a strange aura of the Force surrounding the entire planet. Even if it looked completely normal on the surface, she could tell that Odessen was no ordinary planet, when it came to its affinity to the Force.

"It doesn't look that weird, but I can definitely sense something strange about this place... like the Force behaves differently on this planet, than anywhere else in the Galaxy.." She replied to her companion, wondering if she could feel it too. Letting out a short hum, Ventress shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't sense anything out of place.. I can just make out the living energy of some life forms in the surrounding area. Probably an animal or two.." The dathomirian noted as a response, still holding her hands on her waist. As she and Ahsoka continued to look around, Tana-Rey came to stand next to them as well, taking in a deep breath of the planet's fresh air.

"I can sense the presence of many beings here... like the spirits of the Mystics that have passed on from our world, back home.." The voss female explained, which made Ahsoka raise her eyebrows. Was she sensing the presence of the spirits of Force users around her as well?

"How can the two of you sense such things, and I can't?" Ventress then asked, her voice slightly annoyed, as her two friends could clearly sense more than her in the surrounding area. The young togruta beside her then let out a small chuckle, as she took a few steps forward.

"Perhaps Tana-Rey and I are just more sensitive to feeling things like that through the Force, Asajj.." She suggested, which only made her dathomirian companion exhale in slight annoyance, as she rolled her eyes.

In the following moments, the Stellar Envoy's pilot and owner Jonash Solo, along with his son Han made their way down the ship's boarding ramp, being accompanied by Ahsoka's new personal assassin droid HK-55, courtesy of her ancestor Kallig, who had programmed the droid to follow his descendant with unwavering loyalty. The assassin droid was holding a blaster rifle, examining it as he and Jonash made their way down to the ground.

"That's a sniper rifle made by Czerka Corporation.. it has a powerful recoil, but good range. I would-" The human man explained, as he was the owner of the rifle. But he was abruptly stopped by the intimidating droid, who seemed to be more than comfortable in using the weapon.

"Boastful statement: I have been programmed to handle weapons of any kind with tact and superior performance. I am more than capable of using any of your meager blaster rifles, meatbag.." HK-55 said to him in a snarky way, which made the human pilot raise his eyebrows, as he scratched the back of his head.

"Uh.. right... just point that thing somewhere else, okay?" Jonash replied quietly to the droid, who didn't seem to pay much attention to his suggestions, clanking away as they got to the bottom of the boarding ramp, immediately heading out to a nearby forest, assumingly to secure the perimeter.

As HK-55 made his way past Ahsoka, taking point, the young togruta then turned around, facing his friends and compatriots. Ventress folded her arms, smiling slightly as she glanced at the young woman. Jonash and Han joined the three women as well, the small group now gathered around Ahsoka.

"So, where do we head now?" The dathomirian mercenary asked, figuring that her friend's ghost ancestors had already told her where to go next.

As she could see all of her friends' glancing at her, waiting for an answer, Ahsoka could feel her heart skip a beat. Now was the time for her to reveal the plan, with which she would have to move on with her mission. It pained her, but she knew there was no other way. Letting out a deep sigh, the young togruta closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths, before looking at her group again.

"This.. is where we part ways, Asajj. I can't take any of you with me past this point..." She stated slowly, regret clear in her voice.

Her dathomirian friend's expression immediately turned sour, as she frowned slightly. Jonash looked surprised, his eyebrows raised, while his son seemed shocked, and sad, wanting to say something, but unable to find the words. Tana-Rey on the other hand seemed calm and collected, her expression the usual slight and friendly smile. Ahsoka wondered whether the voss female had already expected this.

"What? You can't be serious!" Ventress shot in an outrage, her breathing becoming heavier. R2 shared the dathomirian's disbelief, frantically beeping and chirping, his dome head spinning around. The young togruta bit her lip, not wanting to do this, but knowing that she had to.

"I wish I weren't.. but this is the path I must take. I've no idea how long my training will take, and I cannot ask all of you to stand by my side throughout all of that. You've already done more to me than most during my whole life.. and for that, I'm forever thankful. But for now.. I must walk my own path, like I did when I left the Jedi Order..." Ahsoka explained in a calm manner, hoping that her friends would understand. Sure enough, Tana-Rey seemed to fully understand, nodding her head, even though she had pledged her service to the young togruta, when she had left her homeworld of Voss.

"We all have our paths to walk, and this is yours, Lady Tano. Whatever you think will get you closer to achieving your destiny.. you should take it, with my complete blessing." The voss healer stated, bowing her head courteously to Ahsoka, who was relieved that at least one of her companions understood her reasoning. R2 and Ventress didn't seem to understand, however, as both of them continued to object, while the Solos stayed silent, though both were clearly wanting to join in on the discussion.

"After all that we've been through, you're just going to ditch us and head off into the sunset!? We need to stick together as a group, especially now that Jedi, and probably other Force users are being hunted down!" The dathomirian then said, trying to persuade her friend, who felt bad having to leave her group behind, but also knew that it was necessary.

"And because the Jedi and Force users have so many enemies now, it's imperative that you stay hidden, and away from me. I'll be busy with my training for the foreseeable future, and I don't want any of you to put yourselves in danger, for sticking with a former Jedi.." Ahsoka answered, to which her friend groaned quietly, as she shook her head.

"And what if we don't care about endangering ourselves? You won't be safe by yourself on a remote world like this! If we leave you here, none of us can save you if someone attacks you.." Ventress continued to argue back, her togruta friend able to sense her extreme worry. Ahsoka bit her lip again, as she then reached out and placed her hand on the dathomirian's shoulder.

"I'll be fine, Asajj. I'll take HK-55 with me, and my ancestors will keep me company as well. I do all of this so that I can further my training.. and we both already know that I need that training for the hardships to come. Please.. trust me on this." She pleaded with the woman, who stared at her for a few long moments, before exhaling long, as she sighed and shook her head again.

"I don't like it.. I don't like it one bit.." Ventress said, making her distaste with the situation clear, as she then groaned in frustration, and walked away from her togruta friend. Ahsoka sighed as well, having hoped that the dathomirian would have understood her reasons a bit better.

R2 then caught the young girl's attention, as he chirped and beeped at her, clearly feeling disappointed as well. Ahsoka sighed again, kneeling down in front of the droid, and petting his dome head with a slight smile.

"I'd love to take you with me, Artooie.. but seeing the terrain on this planet, I know you couldn't keep up all that well, not to mention the fact that I don't have any equipment with me to give you maintenance. You'd be better off with staying aboard the Stellar Envoy.. wouldn't you like that?" She asked softly, smiling at the droid who responded with a few low beeps, indicating his hesitation of leaving her behind, just like Ventress. Ahsoka patted the droid's dome head, as she then looked up at Jonash and his son.

"Would you guys be willing to take Artooie with you on your travels?" She asked the two humans, to which the younger one nodded his head immediately, after which his father did so as well.

"Sure we can.. but are you sure about this all, kid? We could still turn back and leave this planet... all of us.." The Solo patriarch noted, as Ahsoka stood up again, giving him a slight smile in response. It made her feel good to see that her companions cared enough about her to try to stop her, even though it couldn't sway her from her decision.

"I appreciate your concern, Jonash.. but this is the path I must take. I'll be fine, don't worry.. and I'm sure that we'll meet each other again." She replied to him in a friendly manner, to which the human man hummed quietly, as he nodded in understanding. Jonash then seemed to come up with something, as he suddenly turned around, and started to head towards the Envoy's boarding ramp.

"Let's make sure of that, shall we? Wait there just a second, I'll be right back.." The human pilot stated, as he walked up the ramp and entered the ship in the following moments. Ahsoka raised her eyebrow slightly, as she then quickly glanced at Han, who simply shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what his father was up to.

After that, the young togruta turned her glance towards Tana-Rey again, giving her a warm smile as well, which the voss healer returned. Even though they had met under dire circumstances, with Ahsoka battling to simply stay alive, the young girl was still happy and appreciative that they had gotten to know each other. Being introduced to the world and the culture of the Voss, that had otherwise been a complete mystery for her, was something that Ahsoka was sure to cherish for the rest of her life.

"What will you do now, Tana-Rey? I'm sure that Jonash could fly you back to Voss, if you wish to return to your people.." She said to the young voss female, who smiled and quickly glanced at Han.

"If it would please master Solo and his son, I would like to continue travelling with them aboard the Stellar Envoy. There is still much of the Galaxy left for me to see.. and as I told you back on Voss, I am convinced that I have a role to play in the conflicts to come.. by your side, my Lady. Therefore.. I'm certain that we will meet again, and that this small group of ours will be reunited.." Tana-Rey answered calmly, smiling at the young togruta as she looked at her again.

Ahsoka could only smile wider, as she too hoped to reunite with her friends, once her training would be complete. Though she also smiled more as she could see Han's expression brighten immensely, hearing that the voss healer wished to stay with him and his father aboard their ship.

Before she could answer the voss female, Ahsoka then suddenly felt a hand touch her shoulder. As she looked to her left, she could see Ventress standing beside her again, her expression sour and saddened. The dathomirian let out a quiet defeated sigh, and her togruta friend could almost swear that she could see her eyes watering up ever so slightly.

"Don't let those ghost ancestors of yours change you, Ahsoka.. you hear me? I've only started to like you as you are now.. so don't go and ruin that, girl.." Ventress told the young girl, who chuckled quietly, as she gently touched the dathomirian's hand with her own.

"I'll never change who I am, Asajj.. no worries about that. Though the fact that you have changed for the better is all the more reason why I hope that we'll meet again soon.." Ahsoka responded to her, to which the togruta's former arch nemesis frowned a little, although striking a slight smirk at her, as she patted her shoulder.

"You can bet your pretty butt that I'll return to my former self, if you dare change yourself, honey.." Ventress said in a playful manner, as she stepped past her togruta friend, who let out a slight laugh in response.

Ahsoka was glad that the dathomirian had finally accepted her decision, and didn't seem to hold a grudge against her about it. After all, if she had a choice, she would not break away from her friends and the group that had grown so close in such a short period of time.

In the following moments, Jonash appeared again, as he walked down the Stellar Envoy's boarding ramp once more, now carrying a hefty-looking backpack, which seemed to be filled with all sorts of survival items. The human man walked past the group, and laid the backpack down on the grassy ground, motioning Ahsoka to take it.

"Since you'll likely be here a while, I gathered as many things as I could in this backpack. You'll find lamps, a tent, other survival equipment in there, and as many ration packs as I could fit... they should last you at least a month or so.." He explained, as he looked at the young togruta, who smiled widely back at him. But before Ahsoka could thank him, the man took out a small comlink out of his pocket, handing it over to her.

"Oh, and take this. Whenever you're ready to leave this place, just give me a call and the Envoy will come pick you up. I doubt that this planet gets a lot of traffic going through it.." The pilot said as the togruta girl took the comlink in her hands, and chuckled quietly in response.

"Thanks, Jonash.. I'll be sure to contact you when my training's complete. It'd be nice if we could stick together again, once I'm done here.." Ahsoka replied in a friendly manner, to which her human companion struck a slight smile, as he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that'd be nice... I think that both Han and I have gotten quite fond of this little group we've formed, despite the fact that you guys still haven't paid me a dime.." He stated with a chuckle, reminding Ahsoka of the fact that they really hadn't paid anything for Jonash's services. Blushing ever so slightly, the togruta girl scratched her neck, grinning a bit.

"Right.. sorry about that.." She answered quietly, which made the human man laugh a little more, as he waved his hand dismissively, having already gotten used to the fact that he wasn't getting paid. After that, Ventress smirked as she tapped the pilot's shoulder, getting his attention.

"If you're worried about making money, both Tana-Rey and I could help you with your smuggling business. Now that we'll be travelling as a group, I presume that you're planning on returning to smuggling?" The dathomirian asked with a smirk, to which the human man raised his eyebrows, seemingly getting just a little uncomfortable, as Ventress enjoyed teasing him.

"Uh, do you actually know anything about smuggling, Ventress? I mean.. it's a job centered around subtlety.. and... you're not exactly subtle.." Jonash replied to the dathomirian, who simply dismissed him with a wave, as she scoffed slightly.

"Bah! You know that there's no limit to what I can do, Solo.. trust me, I'd make an excellent smuggler partner.." She assured, teasingly winking her eye at the human, who only got more uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Right... well.. just don't wave your lightsabers around, okay? There's no telling just what kind of jobs I'll be getting now.. so I hope you're prepared for that." He noted, knowing that the recent events could affect the smuggling business and the Galactic black market immensely, in both negative and positive ways. Ventress smirked a little wider, as she nodded her head confidently.

"Oh, I'm ready for anything.. I just hope you're able to tag along, big guy.." The dathomirian woman said with another wink of her eye, as she playfully nudged Jonash's shoulder, which made the man grind his teeth together, and scratch his neck further.

As she chuckled watching the two interact in front of her, Ahsoka could then see them turn their attention towards her. Noticing that the entire group was looking at her, she could tell that it was now time to say goodbye.

"Well, take care of yourselves.. all of you. I hope that we'll be able to meet again soon." The young girl said to her companions, who all smiled at her, the human pilot of the Stellar Envoy giving her a small finger salute.

"Stay safe out there, kid. And keep an eye out on that terminator droid of yours... it seems a little trigger happy.." Jonash suggested, to which Ahsoka chuckled slightly, and nodded in agreement, as right in that moment she could hear gunshots some distance away. HK-55 assumedly had found some wildlife. She then glanced over at the voss female, Tana-Rey, who smiled and gave her a courteous bow.

"May your path lead you to greatness, my Lady. I will always be ready to serve you, in your quest of brining peace and equilibrium to the Galaxy.." She said softly, bringing both confidence and pressuring thoughts to the young togruta.

Ahsoka was still a little unsure about her supposed destiny, but she was willing to do what she could in order to restore peace to the Galaxy, and help her former Jedi brothers and sisters, now that they were branded as an enemy of the Republic. She smiled and returned the gesture, bowing slightly to the voss female as well, which seemed to make Tana-Rey even more happy.

As the togruta girl then moved on to glance at Jonash's young son, Han, she smiled a little wider, as she saw the cute boy give her a friendly wave, which she more than happily returned.

"Keep an eye on these two, okay Han?" She asked jokingly, referring to Ventress and Jonash, who both raised their eyebrows at her. The young boy chuckled and nodded in acknowledgment, after which Ahsoka winked her eye at him quickly, feeling happy that she had found a friend in him.

With a few chirps and beeps, R2 then gave her his farewell, to which the young togruta smiled, and knelt down in front of the droid, gently petting his domed head again. Although she knew that her ancestors would have allowed her to keep R2 around during her training, Ahsoka figured it'd be best for the astromech droid to stay with the rest of the group for the time being.

"I'll miss you, little guy.. but we'll stir up some trouble later again, don't you worry about that!" She assured, to which the small droid chimed a little cheerier, looking forward to teaming up with her again.

With a warm smile, Ahsoka gave one last pat on the droid's head, after which she then stood up again. Glancing at her group one more time, she gave them all a farewell wave with her hand, smiling a little wider. Her companions returned the gesture, as they then proceeded to make their way back to the Stellar Envoy, the Solos, Tana-Rey and R2 heading up the ship's boarding ramp in the following moments.

As she walked behind the rest of the group, Ventress stopped halfway up the boarding ramp, glancing at Ahsoka one last time. The dathomirian stared at her for a few long seconds, before she smiled warmly, something that the young togruta still found to be a little funny, considering the past between the two of them.

"May the Force be with you, Ahsoka.." The woman said to her young friend, who continued to smile back at her. Ventress then suddenly clenched her teeth together, frowning slightly, looking as if she was getting sick to her stomach.

"Ugh, I already forgot how obnoxious that sounds..." She then uttered, rolling her eyes as she turned around, and walked up the rest of the boarding ramp, as her togruta friend giggled to herself back on the ground.

Ahsoka could tell that although Ventress had changed herself for the better, her former personality did still push through to the surface every now and then, which was more than a little funny in the togruta girl's mind.

After Ventress had disappeared inside the Stellar Envoy, Ahsoka let out a deep and long sigh. While she still felt regretful over having to leave behind the group she had grown close to, she was nonetheless relieved to have gotten through it now. As she stared at the Corellian light freighter in front of her for a few moments, the ship's boarding ramp slowly closed, retracting itself into the ship, as the Envoy's internal systems were turned on. Knowing that the ship would leave soon, the togruta girl turned around, seeing if she could spot her personal assassin droid anywhere nearby.

Sure enough, the ancient droid did appear right at that moment, walking from a thickly forested area that was surrounding the clearing where the Envoy had landed. The droid was holding the rifle given to him by Jonash tightly in his hands, the barrel of the weapon smoking.

"Excited announcement: Master! I've successfully secured the perimeter, and tested this meager weapon's capabilities on the creatures native to this world. I am happy to announce that I still possess the knowledge about the creatures' weak spots, so they will prove no match to me... even if I'm forced to use this scrappy rifle.." HK-55 stated, as he made his way to Ahsoka, who bit her lip slightly.

She still hadn't gotten exactly used to the droid's apparent bloodlust, but it at least comforted her to know that she could rest easy, knowing that HK-55 would always have her back, as he was programmed to complete and utter loyalty.

"That's nice to hear, HK-55. Carry this backpack for me, will you?" She asked, pointing at the hefty backpack that Jonash had given her earlier. The droid, without saying a word, simply crouched down and lifted the pack up without any effort, displaying the prowess of his mechanical strength.

After that, Ahsoka quickly glanced back at the Stellar Envoy one last time, hearing the ship's engines sprung to life, as it prepared for takeoff. Biting her lip, she then proceeded to move away from the ship, and head towards the thickly vegetated forest, HK-55 following closely behind her, carrying her backpack and having his sniper rifle tugged on his back.

As the two of them got to the forest, the Stellar Envoy proceeded to power up its engines, and liftoff from the ground. From the cover of the trees and bushes, Ahsoka stopped on her heels, and turned around to watch the ship take off, and turn its sights on the planet's atmosphere, its engine beginning to push the ship further away from the surface, and up into the sky. Sighing as she watched her friends leave, Ahsoka then turned her attention to HK-55 again, knowing that she had to focus now.

"So.. I assume you know where we should be heading? Are there any structures nearby, that we could use as cover?" She asked the droid, who quickly looked around, as if calculating something inside of his head. The assassin droid then glanced back at her.

"Answer: The former headquarters of the Eternal Alliance are located approximately thirty kilometers to the west. I will take you there, master.." HK-55 replied promptly, after which he began to head to the west, quickly finding a natural trail on the forestry ground. Ahsoka proceeded to follow the droid's lead, while constantly looking around, as this place was completely alien to her.

As the Stellar Envoy made its way to Odessen's atmosphere, Ahsoka and her only remaining travelling partner, HK-55, proceeded to walk through the planet's thick forests, as they begun their long trek to the ancient Eternal Alliance's former headquarters, which lied against a large mountain range, just beyond the massive forest they were in now.

The young togruta girl, although having to abandon the group she had grown fond of, had now begun her path to becoming a proper Force Walker. With the guidance of her ancestors, Ahsoka was determined to hone her skills, and grow stronger as a result. Learning to use both the Light and the Dark Side of the Force effectively, without falling to darkness would be a process that could take her weeks, if not months or years, but the young girl was willing to suffer through it all.

In the end, she only wished to grow strong enough to fight against the dark powers that were taking control of the Galaxy currently, and bring back peace and security to the vulnerable and innocent people living all around her. But furthermore, she was ready to do whatever was needed, if it meant that she would eventually find her way back to the arms of her lover Anakin, and finally find peace with the human man she so dearly loved.

She wanted to live with him, grow happy with him and someday raise a family with him, like her ancestors Kallig and Ashara had done thousands of years ago, as they had found a way to repel the wars and horrors that the Galaxy had thrown at them, and be able to get married and raise children. That was a dream that Ahsoka had had for years now, though it had only grown as strong as it was right now a few weeks ago. If there were no other reason for her to go through with all of this, it was that she was determined to one day call Anakin her husband, and make him as happy as he made her by simply existing, and being close to her. He was everything to her, and she was ready to die before she'd ever let go of the man she had fallen so hard in love with.

 **...**

The echoing sounds of loud clapping and applause were clear within one of the large hallways inside the Senate Building, leading up to the Grand Convocation Chamber, where the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was currently holding an emergency meeting, regarding the recent events surrounding the surprise attack against the Jedi Order.

Approaching an entryway into the massive chamber was the Senator of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, being flanked by her personal bodyguard Gregar Typho. The elegant and fashionable human female had been late from the emergency meeting, having had to prepare herself properly, which had taken more time than usual, considering the recent events that had shocked her to her core.

Having cried for hours, Padmé had finally managed to collect herself on the morning, only a few hours before this meeting was scheduled to take place. She hadn't gotten much sleep, however, which had made her preparing for the day all the more difficult, as her aides had spent much more time with her makeup. But as the result, she was as elegant and beautiful as ever, despite her sleepless night filled with sobbing.

As Padmé and Typho got to the entrance of a repulsorpod viewing platform reserved for the Naboo delegation, the speech that the Supreme Chancellor was giving started to become intelligible for the human female. Stepping onto the platform she could notice that it was already occupied by some of her colleagues, namely the representative of Naboo and Padmé's longtime friend and subordinate, the gungan _Jar Jar Binks_ , as well as the Senator of _Pantora_ , _Riyo Chuchi_ , and her personal guard detail.

Chuchi was a _pantoran_ , hailing from the aforementioned moon named Pantora, orbiting the remote and icy planet _Orto Plutonia_ , in the Pantora system. Pantorans were near-humans with blue skin, and various hair colors naturally unusual to their distant human relatives. Chuchi was the youngest senator working for the Republic, having assumed the position at only 16 years old. However, during the Clone Wars, she had proved her prowess in the field of diplomacy, outdoing some of the oldest and most veteran of senators with her sharp wit, and a high sense of morality and judgment. Despite her age, the young pantoran woman had earned the respect of her colleagues, and was among the many who formed the Delegation of 2000 group within the Galactic Senate.

Padmé sat down next to her pantoran colleague, who had been present at the meeting since its start. The two of them shared a silent greeting by smiling at each other for a short moment, after which they both turned their attention at Chancellor Palpatine, who was speaking at the center of the chamber, elevated on the Chancellor's Podium, and being accompanied by both Mas Amedda, and the umbaran Sly Moore.

"What's happening, Riyo?" The human senator asked her colleague, who let out a deep sigh, as she nodded towards the Chancellor's direction.

"The Chancellor claims that Jedi Masters led by Mace Windu attempted to assassinate him, and lead a coup against the Senate.." The pantoran girl answered, visibly shocked and dumbfounded, as she too couldn't believe that the Jedi Order would do such a thing.

Padmé could feel her heart began to pound in her chest, as she could only assume that Master Windu, along with so many other Jedi, were already dead. It only increased her worries about her dear friend Anakin. Swallowing up her worrying, the human female then focused in on the Chancellor's speech.

"...the attempt on my life perpetrated by the Jedi has left my heart broken. The people we all trusted so very much, turned out to be our greatest enemy. It pains me to acknowledge the fact that the Jedi Order schemed behind the Senate's back for years, using subterfuge and corruption to manipulate the Trade Federation and various commerce guilds, leading up to the Separatist Crisis. Count Dooku himself was a high-ranking Jedi Master.. and it seems that he never really cut ties to the Order..." Chancellor Palpatine explained, sending shivers down Padmé's spine, as she couldn't believe a single word that the elder human man was saying. She knew that the Jedi couldn't be behind the Clone Wars, but to her dismay, it looked like the majority of the senators within the chamber believed the Chancellor.

"Why did they orchestrate this horrendous and bloody conflict? To usurp control of the Republic, and assume absolute rule over the good people of the Galaxy. They saw me, as well as all of you senators as corrupt heretics, leading the Galaxy away from their supposed holy ways. Therefore.. the only conclusion they came to, was to take control of the Republic, like they did over ten thousand years ago, when the Jedi Order usurped power from Supreme Chancellor _Contispex XIX_ , which lead to centuries of Jedi rule over the Republic. And never forget the near five hundred years of Jedi acting as Supreme Chancellor, during the time of the New Sith Wars..." The human Supreme Chancellor continued, which roused outraged yells and chants within the chamber, which only dismayed Padmé even more, seeing just how many senators supported the Chancellor's crusade against the Jedi.

While Palpatine spoke the truth on some level, the human female was able to remember from her earlier history studies, that the Jedi taking over the Republic from the Contispex dynasty, did so because of the fundamentalist religious _Pius Dea_ movement, that had taken complete control over the Galactic Senate, and had enslaved and oppressed thousands of planets over the period of a millennia. The Jedi Order freed countless of lives from the oppressive rule of the Contispex dynasty, restoring the Republic to its roots, even if they held control of it for centuries.

And during the time of the New Sith Wars, the Jedi feared that the Sith could covertly take over the Republic, by manipulating the Supreme Chancellor, and thus hindering the war effort, which is why they took matters into their own hands, and assumed the office of the Chancellor, and held it up until the war with the Sith ended, which is when the Old Republic was dissolved under the Ruusan Reformations, and control was handed over to a non-Jedi Chancellor once again.

"But thanks to my loyal guardsmen, and the faithful servants of the Republic, Master Windu's plans were foiled, and the clone army placed the Jedi Temple under occupation. The Jedi arose in full rebellion, forcing the clones to use deadly force against them, as they stormed the Temple. But because of this open rebellion against the Republic, the remaining Jedi will be hunted down and brought to justice!" Chancellor Palpatine then stated powerfully, which sent the Grand Convocation Chamber into a rowdy and loud moment of cheers and applause.

Padmé could feel her heart beating even faster in her chest, as she breathed slightly heavier, fighting hard not to tear up. The Chancellor was calling for the heads of every single Jedi, and seeing what the clones had done to the Temple, the Senator of Naboo could only feel her fears for the lives of the Jedi still remaining grow stronger. She was especially fearful fro Anakin's life, from whom she had not heard anything since meeting him prior to the attack against the Jedi Temple.

She knew that Anakin and the Chancellor had been quite close over the years, but she couldn't tell whether or not Palpatine would treat the young Jedi Master any differently than his peers, or if he'd face the same fate as all the other members of the Order.

"These events have shaken me to my core, and have made me realize the painful truth.. that the Republic as an institution has failed to keep the Galaxy safe and secure. The thousand years of dividedness caused by corrupt politicians and governments looking after their own interests shall finally come to an end.." Palpatine then announced, which made both Padmé and Chuchi raise their eyebrows, the human female's eyes also widening slightly. This is exactly what she was afraid would happen.

"To facilitate the continuing stability after the wars have ended, the Republic will be reorganized into the first _Galactic Empire_! It will provide a safe and secure society, which will last for a ten thousand years! It will continue to be governed by this reliable Senate, and a sovereign and powerful ruler that is chosen for life! And despite the brazen attack the Jedi perpetrated, my resolve has only strengthened, and I accept the duties of becoming your first Galactic Emperor with determination and tenacity!" The human man then explained in a loud and pompous voice, which was followed by an outburst of loud applause and cheering, the Galactic Senate evidently more than happy to receive these news.

Padmé sat down silently on her seat, shockingly witnessing the fall of the Galactic Republic right before her eyes. She couldn't believe the Chancellor was declaring himself a dictator, and replacing the democratic government of the Republic with a totalitarian system, which would no doubt limit the power of the Senate to make it obsolete. She didn't believe a word Palpatine was saying, assuming that this had been the man's plan all along, which only shocked her further.

"With a strong military and resolute government, the Galaxy shall finally know peace, and our most sacred and valued traditions will be preserved! The assigned regional governors will eliminate the bureaucracy and corruption that allowed the Separatist movement to grow unchecked, and increased military and law enforcement spending will ensure that the law is followed everywhere within the Empire's borders!" The newly self-proclaimed Emperor continued to announce, as the applause and cheering only increased, the majority of the Senate taking it all in as some sort of blessing. Padmé and Chuchi glanced at each other, both sharing the same kind of shocked and dismayed expression.

"This is not the end, but the beginning of a far greater future than any of us could imagine! Ten thousand years of prosperity will start now! Security, Justice, and Peace!" Palpatine then proclaimed loudly, which was followed with deafening cheers and chants, as the hundreds of senators and their delegations rose up from their seats to show off their support for the new Empire. All with the exception of a select few senators, including Padmé and Chuchi, who simply leaned back on their chairs, the human female letting out a long sigh.

"So this is how liberty dies, Chuchi... with thunderous applause.." Padmé said to her colleague quietly, as she looked around the Senate Chamber, dismayed over the fact how many people cheered on the newly crowned Emperor. Her pantoran colleague could only sigh in response, as she buried her face in her hands, finding the situation all too depressing.

"Disa berry berry bad. Deysa maken de Jedi outlaws an' killa dem? Wesa shoul' halpen dem, Padmi!" The gungan representative and old friend of the Senator of Naboo, Jar Jar said behind her, to which the human female sighed, and nodded her head in agreement.

"I know, Jar Jar.. and we will. Naboo won't support a government like this, which I fear will lead to dark times upon our people..." She replied to the gungan male, as she began to stroke her chin for a moment.

Although Padmé had no intention whatsoever to support this new Galactic Empire that Palpatine had formed, even if the Senate was allowed to continue holding power, she did know that it would not be the case for long, as all the dictatorships in the Galaxy would sooner rather than later take the power away from the people, and allocate it only for the sole ruler, in this case the new Galactic Emperor.

This development also worried her immensely, as her homeworld of Naboo had only recently elected its new Queen; _Apailana_. At only thirteen years old, the newly crowned Queen of Naboo was already highly idealistic, having a very specific sense of morality and principle, and she was an admirer of the Jedi Order as well. Padmé feared that because of Naboo's position near the edges of the Outer Rim, and the new queen's staunch support for the Jedi and the Republic, the young Apailana would possibly denounce the rule of the Empire, and declare Naboo fully independent.

Such a move would only bring death and destruction for the humans and gungans living on the planet, which worried the female senator. Padmé hoped that she'd be able to travel to Naboo as quickly as she could, so that she'd have a chance at persuading the young queen not to defy the Empire. In order for her, and all of the other pro-democracy senators within the Senate to fight back against this rising oppressive regime, they had to play their cards right, and carefully most importantly.

"I must inform the Chairman about this immediately.. Pantora will never accept a militaristic regime to govern them, but in order for us to avoid extinction, I will have to persuade them to lay low, and hold their objections..." Chuchi stated quietly, sighing again as she knew just how dire the situation was. Padmé shared her colleague's worries, having the exact same plans in her mind as well.

"I should do the same with Naboo's Queen.. the Emperor will surely expect all of us to pledge our loyalty to him, and this new Empire.." She replied to the pantoran girl, who nodded in agreement, biting her lip.

"And destroy those who defy him... because why else would he do this? We must be cautious moving forward, Senator Amidala... dark times are upon us.." Chuchi then said, as she slowly got up from her seat.

The young pantoran woman then smiled ever so faintly, as she bowed her head to her human colleague, who returned the gesture. The Senator of Pantora then left the viewing platform, her guardsmen getting up from their seats and following her out as well. Padmé sighed to herself again, as she returned her attention to the rowdy Senate Chamber, seeing the newly proclaimed Emperor bask in the thunderous cheers and displays of support that he was receiving.

The human senator bit her lip, as she looked around the surrounding area of the chamber. She knew that there were still many senators, who would not support a totalitarian regime like the Galactic Empire was destined to be. With these senators and the worlds they represented, Padmé feared that a civil war was slowly starting to take form within the Galactic community. Even though she valued peace and avoiding conflicts, the young senator was ready to fight for her beliefs, and to free the Galaxy from any and all oppressive institutions.

With the attack on the Jedi, and the dismantling of the Republic, Padmé knew that she could no longer support Palpatine, or anything he brought forward, as it was now clear to her, that the newly proclaimed Emperor had planned for this all along, in order to take absolute control over the Galaxy. The warning signs of that had been visible for many years now, but Padmé, along with all of her colleagues, had been too blind to see it for the longest time.

But the damage had been done; countless of Jedi and their supporters now laid dead, and the principles of the Republic would soon be a thing of the past. Padmé was determined to fight back against the Empire, but knew that acting out on such drastic measures right now would only lead to her destruction. With her allies within the Senate, the senator knew that they had to lay low, and slowly build up their forces, so that they could one day in the future restore the Galaxy to what it had been before, and bring back the Republic that had kept it safe for countless millennia.

It would take time, but the human female had now seen that the future would only get bleaker, if she didn't do something. And too many of her friends had already died because of the machinations of the man she had considered her mentor and greatest ally for over a decade. But no matter what would happen, Padmé knew that she could no longer trust Palpatine, or any of her cronies and sycophants. She could only rely on herself, and the closest allies she had in the Senate. And the only thing that was certain right now, was that the Galaxy would see even more destruction and terror coming its way in the near future. Darkness had truly awoken, a darkness not seen since the start of the New Sith Wars...


	21. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Evening sunlight gave the Coruscant skylight a pleasant and warm orange hued color, as the enormous ecumenopolis' parent star slowly had began to descend into the horizon. The Galactic City's political sector was teeming with life, celebrating populace, as well as minor riots, as the news of the Republic's dismantling had spread quickly like wildfire. The Galactic Empire had been formed, replacing the thousand year old government that had ruled over the Galaxy through democratic, although increasingly corrupt ways.

The news about the emergent regime had gotten a mixed reception among the populace. While many were now celebrating on the streets, excited about Emperor Palpatine's promises of a strong and stable future, others could tell that something fishy was going on, especially due to the fact that the Jedi Order had been branded as enemies of the state. While the majority of the common people within the Republic had been manipulated to view the Jedi in a negative light, drastic measures and changes such as the ones that the new Galactic Empire had already put in motion, were something that a large portion of the people of Coruscant would not abide by.

The rays of sunlight shined through the large window of the former Supreme Chancellor's Suite, inside the Republic Executive Building, that had already been renamed the _Imperial Executive Building_. The damage to the office resulted by the battle between Darth Sidious and the Jedi attempting to apprehend him had mostly been repaired, with some lightsaber cuts still visible on the walls and furniture, and the bodies of the slain Jedi taken away to be disposed of.

The newly crowned Galactic Emperor Palpatine sat down comfortably on his chair, leaning on his office table with a smile on his face. Standing beside the human man were his closest advisor, and the first member of the newly formed _Imperial Ruling Council_ , Mas Amedda, as well as his umbaran aide and secret Dark Acolyte apprentice Sly Moore.

Across the table on the other side, the representatives of the Chiss Ascendancy, Admiral Thrawn and his sister Veeren, sat down on the seats in front of the Emperor's desk. They were flanked by the two Dark Acolytes Barriss Offee and Sora Bulq, who stood silently behind the chiss delegates. The new Galactic Emperor's closest allies had all gathered to celebrate their monumental victory over the Republic and the Jedi. The Emperor had a small glass of whiskey on the desk, which he took in his hand, and raised it up slightly, as if making a toast.

"This is a glorious day for us all, my friends. We have finally taken our rightful place as the Galaxy's rulers.. and make no mistake, our rule will be absolute, and last for ten millennia." The former Supreme Chancellor announced joyously, taking a sip of his drink, being all too pleased with himself. The elder man had worked for decades to see this day become a reality, and now that he had finally reached it, the enjoyment and exhilaration were clear as day in his demeanor.

"The plan was executed perfectly, your Excellency. A bright future is ahead of us.." The female chiss Veeren noted, as she smirked while glancing at the new Emperor, as well as her brother who sat beside her. Before the chiss admiral could respond to her sister's remark, the chagrian advisor standing next to the Emperor tapped his golden staff on the floor once, getting the human's attention.

"My Lord; we've already received reports of several planets renouncing the Empire's rule, seceding from the Senate. I predict that more will follow in the coming days.." Mas Amedda announced, his voice stern and serious, but it didn't seem to deter the new Galactic Emperor's joy in any way, as the elder man simply waved his hand dismissively.

"They will be dealt with in due time. All shall bend their knee to their new Emperor, or join the Jedi in a pile of ashes. The Galaxy belongs to the Sith once again.. and our rule will not be challenged." Palpatine replied nonchalantly, clearly not concerned about the fact that the news about the Republic's dismantling were not taken well everywhere in the Galaxy. The chagrian male then stayed quiet, realizing that his liege couldn't be bothered with such issues right now.

"There will be a lot of changes coming our way, changes that will make the Galaxy a better place. Starting with you two.." The Emperor then said, as he stared at Bulq and Barriss, who both nearly jumped, as they had not expected to be called out. The two Dark Acolytes glanced at each other, after which they then looked at their Sith Master again.

"Us.. my Lord..?" Barriss asked cautiously, not knowing what the Sith Lord had in store for them. After a short moment of smirking deviously, the elder man then leaned back on his chair, and took a sip of his drink again.

"During the days of the old Sith Empire, they had an institution of Sith who acted as agents, assassins and keepers of ancient knowledge. They were known as Inquisitors, and I have decided to reform the _Inquisitorius_.. and you two shall become the first Inquisitors to serve the Empire.." The Emperor declared, as he placed his whiskey glass back on the desk. Both Barriss and Bulq raised their eyebrows, as they again glanced at one another.

"Your job will be to serve the Empire from the shadows, hunt down rouge Jedi and eliminate them.. or convert them to our cause. I expect that there will be more than a few survivors of Order 66, that would join the Empire, if given the chance..." The human man continued, to which the two Dark Acolytes both bit their lips, as the weequay male cleared his throat.

"We live to serve you and the Empire, my Lord. It is an honor to be the first Inquisitor at your command.." Bulq assured, as he bowed down to his lord. Barriss frowned in sheer annoyance, as her hatred for the weequay man was still booming, but the female mirialan swallowed her grievances, and followed in her colleague's suite, bowing as well.

The Emperor could sense the young woman's anger and hatred, which especially pleased him. Although his new orders for the two rivaling Acolytes made them bound to work together, the Dark Lord of the Sith was still hopeful that one of them would eventually kill the other. Despite initially promising them, that whichever of them would win the rivalry, would gain Lord Sidious' favor, and become his apprentice, the human man was now only wanting to see the two Acolytes tear each other to pieces, as it amused him. He already had found the perfect apprentice, someone far greater than both Barriss and Bulq combined.

And at that moment, the doors to the Emperor's office slid open. As the doorway opened up, an eerie silence fell inside the office room. The Emperor looked up and past his allies towards the entrance, a devilish smirk appearing on his face. As Barriss raised her eyebrows, glancing at her Sith Master, she could suddenly hear an echoing, almost mechanical sound of breathing. The sound was the only thing that could be heard within the office for a short moment, which sent shivers down the young mirialan's spine. The chiss delegates and the two Inquisitors then turned around to glance towards the entrance as well, after which they were exposed to an awe-inspiring, albeit slightly disturbing sight.

Standing at the doorway was a dark figure, clad in obsidian black body armor, decorated with light metals and expensive looking leather and fabrics. The metallic parts of the armor had decorative symbols on them, marks of ancient Sith Lords of a forgotten age. The body armor was coupled with a black cloak, that featured a hood that could cover the individual's head, which was covered with an intimidating helmet.

The helmet covered the figure's entire head, looking protective and awe-inspiring. The front of the helmet was a decorated mask, which looked like the masks Sith Warriors were known to wear thousands of years ago. Barriss could feel her heart beating faster, as she stared at the individual, knowing that it was Darth Vader, in his new and intimidating looks. The former Jedi Master's new outfit made him look like Tulak Hord himself had reemerged straight from the history books, his new armor and helmet making him a truly powerful and intimidating sight.

"Lord Vader! Join us, my friend... our new Empire is finally taking its shape!" Darth Sidious stated, urging his new apprentice to come further in. The young Sith Lord said nothing, simply staring at the group before him for a few moments, before he started to approach them, his metallic and leathery boots stomping on the floor.

As the armored Sith Lord walked up to his master, the human man stopped near the front of the desk, and knelt down, bowing his head as he greeted the Galactic Emperor. The chiss delegation and the Inquisitors silently watched by, as Lord Sidious smiled widely, and stood up from his seat.

"My good friends.. may I present to you the new Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military.. Darth Vader!" The elder human man announced in an excited voice, which was responded by small applause from the two chiss delegates, who smiled politely as they looked at the knelt down Sith Lord, who bowed his head further in front of his master.

"Thank you, my master.." Lord Vader replied calmly, his voice low-pitched and drastically different, a voice modulator built into his helmet modifying the human man's voice enough to make his true identity indistinguishable.

After that, the young man's Sith Master smirked, and signaled him to stand up with his hand, as the Emperor then sat back down on his chair, and once again took the whiskey glass in his hand. As Lord Vader got up, and stood tall next to the two Inquisitors and the chiss delegation, their overlord chuckled quietly, as he took another sip from his drink.

"Needless to say that this victory is the result of all our hard work. Trust me when I say this; we will all reap the benefits of what we've achieved here today. As future historians look back at how the greatest and most stable Galactic government was formed, they will remember our names.. until the end of times.." The Emperor of the newly formed regime assured self-confidently, the pleased smile on his face never having faded. He had achieved everything he and his former Sith Master had dreamed of, succeeding in the plan that the Sith Order had schemed for nearly a thousand years.

As the Sith Lord and his allies could bask in the pleasure of their historic victory, their Jedi enemies at long last lying in ruins, the rest of the Galaxy's inhabitants could only stand back and watch their lives change drastically. The Republic was gone, and with it the freedoms and rights that its citizens once had would soon disappear as well, as it was always the goal of a Sith to dominate, and not to serve anyone but themselves and their cause.

After thousands of years, the Sith were once again at the top, their patience and hard work of scheming and plotting having truly paid off. Their next goal would be to solidify their grip on the Galaxy, especially since many planets had already voiced their discontent with the Empire. But the Emperor, as well as his closest allies, were confident in their ability to quickly quell any uprisings that would try to challenge their rule. And with every crushed rebellion, the populace would feel fear, and submit to the absolute rule over their lives.

That was how the Sith had always ruled, and it would be so once again, now that they had at long last managed to take over the Galaxy. Only time would tell whether or not they would truly be successful in subjugating every living being under their rule. The newly crowned Emperor was confident about this, but so had been many Sith rulers in the Galactic history before him, and none of them had succeeded. However, no other Sith had succeeded in destroying the Republic ever before, so Darth Sidious had already gotten further than most of his predecessors. And this fact gave the devious Sith Lord even more confidence and determination, and was why this victory gave him even more satisfaction than he had anticipated.

 **...**

Warm sunlight shined on the clear sky of the mysterious and remote world of Odessen. Flocks of small birds flew across the beautiful scenery, the thick forests teeming with wildlife, both docile and aggressive. The many different songs that the species of birds sung echoed within the woods, making the scene quite idyllic.

Trudging through the thick vegetation was the young togruta female Ahsoka Tano, following behind her personal assassin droid bodyguard and guide, HK-55, who used his metallic legs to clear some of the thick bushes that grew on the ground, allowing his owner to have a slightly easier time making her way through the vast forest. The two of them had been trekking through the Odessen forests for a few hours now, getting closer and closer to their destination; the ancient headquarters of the Eternal Alliance. Ahsoka had mused to herself about the irony of that organization being named in such a way, only for it to end up being a simple footnote in Galactic history after its collapse.

After a few minutes of trekking through the lush vegetation, Ahsoka could see that the droid in front of her was approaching a clearing in the forest, which relieved her. She had slightly exhausted herself from all the walking, especially since the forest was hard to navigate through, filled with bushes, trees and other vegetation.

The ancient droid pushed through a large bush, cutting down many of its branches with his arm and legs, still carrying the heavy backpack that had been provided to Ahsoka by Jonash Solo. As HK-55 got to the clearing beyond, the young togruta quickly made her way through the pathway the droid had created for her, arriving to the clearing as well a short moment afterwards.

As she came to the clearing, Ahsoka could quickly figure out that she had gotten the edge of a cliff, facing a vast and beautifully lush valley. The young togruta could feel her breath being taken away, as her icy blue eyes widened by the sight she was witnessing. Before her was a vast, green valley, decorated by several wrecks of ancient starships; their hulls rusted out and overgrown with vegetation. At the other side of the valley, built into a mountain, was the massive ruined building complex that presumably used to be the Eternal Alliance's headquarters.

"Wow..." She said in quiet amazement, as she gazed upon the vast area opening up before her. It was like she had found an ancient lost city, filled with treasures and prizes, a place perfect for an adventure.

The main building of the headquarters seemed somewhat similar to the Senate Building on Coruscant, though not as large in size, and badly deteriorated, its ceiling almost completely having caved in, and vegetation surrounding it. Large landing pads suspended above the valley had long since collapsed, their metallic and stony ruins laying on the bottom of the lush valley. Despite its decayed looks, Ahsoka was still impressed by the sight. During its prime, this place must have been an even more spectacular sight, with all the ships and people occupying it.

As she continued to stare at the scenery, HK-55 silently standing beside her, waiting for his master to give him to order to continue forward, Ahsoka could suddenly feel the familiar cold and shivering breeze flow through her. Clenching her teeth together, she could sense her ancestor Kallig materializing next to her. Looking to her left, the togruta girl could spot the spirit of her human ancestor standing right beside her, staring at the valley before them as well.

"I remember coming here the first time.. I was one of the founders of the Alliance, and I became one of its leaders. I witnessed the construction of this base firsthand... it's.. strange seeing it again, and in the state that it is right now.." Kallig noted, as his eyes gazed upon the large building in the valley in front of them.

Ahsoka bit her lip, looking at her ancestor. She couldn't even imagine who it would feel like seeing something thousands of years after witnessing them the last time, being able to see just how much it all has changed in the passage of time.

As she opened her mouth to say something, the young togruta's attention was suddenly caught by dark and thick clouds, slowly approaching in the horizon. She bit her lip further, knowing that the weather would get worse soon.

"Looks like there's a storm coming.. hopefully that base is still able to hold out rain..." Ahsoka then said, not really knowing what else she could say to her ancestor, who had a short moment of nostalgia.

The spirit of the human man took a moment to glance at the still clear sky, seeing the approaching clouds, after which he chuckled slightly, as he then turned his attention at his young descendant.

"Well, shall we begin then, child? We have much work to do.." The former Sith Lord then stated with a slight chuckle, winking his eye at the young girl, who could feel her heart beating a little faster. Even though she was more than determined to see through her training, the fact that she had no idea what it entailed did make her anxious. She however nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"Yes... I'm ready for it." Ahsoka answered, trying to sound as confident as she could, despite her slight hesitations. Kallig stared at her for a moment, a smile appearing on his face, as he chuckled slightly again.

"Let's get to it then.." The human man replied, after which his ethereal body disappeared, as if he was swept away by the wind, like dust in the air. Ahsoka took a deep breath, after her ancestor's body disappeared, as she then turned her head towards HK-55, who was staring at her silently.

"Inquiry: Who were you talking to, master?" The droid asked her, obviously having not seen the togruta's ancestor, and his former owner's spirit. Ahsoka took in a short breath again, before answering the droid.

"No one, don't worry about it. We should get to that base before the storm will hit us." She told the droid, pointing at the Eternal Alliance's ruined headquarters. The assassin droid simply nodded in acknowledgment, as he continued to glance at her.

"Acknowledgment: Of course, master.. my barometers indicate that those clouds will be on us within the hour. I can take you to the base at once... we should be covered from the weather there.." HK-55 explained, after which he fell quiet once more, waiting for Ahsoka to give him orders. The togruta girl bit her lip, as she then nodded at the droid.

"Okay.. lead the way then." She answered to the droid, who without a word then turned around, and began to head towards a small trail, that seemingly led down the high cliff they were standing on.

In the following moments the duo started to climb down the cliff, and heading to the lush and beautiful valley beyond. They'd continue their journey to the Eternal Alliance's former base of operations, as the dark and gloomy clouds slowly approached the area, more than likely bringing rain and thunder with them. If they were lucky, the long since abandoned structure would offer them amble protection from the incoming storm, or else they'd need to weather it, and be exposed to cold rain and other harmful elements.

After reaching the base, Ahsoka would be that much closer to finally starting her training, and moving forward to becoming stronger in the Force, and honing her skills as a Force Walker. Although still uncertain and hesitant, there was no turning back anymore. Ahsoka's destiny was to go through her training, and become a powerful Force user in the process, her ancestors guiding her closely through all of the coming hardships, that she would have to face.

Beyond completing her training, Ahsoka had no idea what the future might bring to her. But regardless of what would happen, she was still determined to do everything she could, to ensure that she would one day live a happy life with her secret lover, in a Galaxy that is devoid of needless war and destruction. She wanted peace, security and most importantly the love of her life, and to have all of those things in her reach again, the young togruta was prepared for anything.

 **...**

The sun of the planet Coruscant had almost completely set below the horizon of the Galactic City's military district, the evening sky bright orange in its coloration. As the evening had shrouded on the vast cityscape, the Coruscant Guard and law enforcement agencies had finally started to get the numerous riots and rowdy celebrations under control. Although the riots had caused some property damage, the quick response from the law enforcement had put an end to the unrests around the Galactic City's political district.

Overlooking the massive staging area that was used for the Republic's, now the Empire's armies to deploy, was a tall tower, built near the former Republic Center of Military Operations, now having been converted for the Galactic Empire's use. Located on one of the tower's higher levels was a sizeable balcony, which gave an excellent overview of the staging area.

Several people stood on the balcony, watching over thousands of clone troopers and Imperial equipment embarking Acclamator-class assault ships, and Venator-class star destroyers. Among the people on the balcony were the Empire's newly crowned Emperor Palpatine, accompanied by his aides and closest advisors, as well as a select few senators of different worlds. Several officers of the newly reorganized Imperial Military were standing nearby as well.

The delegation representing the Chiss Ascendancy was also present, as were the first members of the new Inquisitorius; Barriss Offee and Sora Bulq. Standing right next to the Galactic Emperor, was the young Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, clad in his intimidating armor. Some of the senators and the military officers felt more than a little uncomfortable, being in the presence of the silently breathing, completely unidentifiable Sith Lord. Palpatine could sense their uncomfortable thoughts, which pleased him. His apprentice struck fear into their subjects, which was exactly what he had hoped would happen.

As the assembly of people looked over to the staging area, they could see how the Empire's garrisoned on Coruscant was now preparing to deploy to the frontlines. Among the clone forces now boarding their transport ships were the 501st Legion, personally under the command of Lord Vader, as well as the 327th Star Corps, formerly under the command of Jedi Master Aayla Secura. The thousands of clone troopers, now loyal to the Galactic Empire, were being deployed on new frontlines all across the Galaxy, as the war with the Hutts would only heat up in the coming weeks. Despite the new government had just taken its seat as the ruling power, replacing the former Republic, they wished to waste no time in ridding the Galaxy of a rivaling regime; the largely unorganized but still powerful and influential Hutt Cartel.

The news about several planets seceding from the newly proclaimed Empire was also of no concern for the Emperor, as the massive redeployment of the former Grand Army's forces was also a strategic move from Palpatine to solidify his Empire's power, by quickly and ruthlessly quelling any and all possible insurgencies that would aim to resist their rule. The Dark Lord of the Sith had worked too long and too hard to let his new Empire fall into disarray because of a few unruly subjects. Once the resisting worlds would be taken care of, the elder human man was certain that the age of prosperity, peace and security would finally begin, as they would then wipe the Hutts off the face of the Galaxy as well.

"Lord Vader.. I have a mission for you and the 501st Legion. Your work to punish the enemies of the Empire shall begin immediately.." The Emperor proclaimed to his Sith apprentice, as he leaned over the balcony's railing, still looking at the massive deployment of the Empire's military might. The armored human Sith Lord silently turned his gaze towards his master, his helmet making the sounds of his audible breathing almost mechanical and devilish.

"I am at your command, master." He answered, to which his Sith Master grinned deviously, as he breathed in for a short moment, before exhaling and giving his orders to the young Sith beside him.

"Your task is to join up with the fleet that crushed the Hapan Royal Navy at Onderon. Our intelligence indicates that the Hapan Queen Mother perished during the battle, which has left their small and insignificant Consortium in complete chaos..." The Emperor explained, which made his young apprentice raise his eyebrow under his helmet.

Vader had heard about the former Jedi turned Queen Mother of Hapes, who had initiated a short-lived, but destructive conflict against the Republic. He hadn't heard about it more than that, but hearing his master say that the Hapan Royal Navy had been decimated above Onderon, he could only assume that the short war had been a failure for the Queen Mother.

"Once you've rendezvoused with the fleet, it is your mission to invade the Hapes Cluster, and conquer the pathetic Consortium. Decimate their defenses, and show the people of Hapes why the Empire is to be both feared and respected!" Lord Sidious then commanded, his voice filled with determination and sadistic excitement.

His young apprentice was silent for a moment, as he could tell that conquering Hapes would be only the first of the many bloody battles his Sith Master would command him to partake in. Lord Vader then simply nodded in understanding, as he acknowledged the Dark Lord's order.

"As you wish, my master. Hapes will fall to us.. the 501st will make sure of that." The young Sith assured, which made his master's grin widen, as the elder man nodded.

After a short moment of silence, the large group continuing to witness the Empire's military boarding the many starships gathered on the staging area, the Emperor then once again spoke up.

"Your ship has already been prepared and is awaiting your arrival, Lord Vader. Go now, and bring order to the Galaxy in your Emperor's name.." The man ordered, expecting his secret Sith apprentice to leave and carry out his orders.

Although many of the new Empire's high-ranking officials were aware of Darth Vader's existence, and his Sith persona, no one other than his closest allies and advisors were aware of Emperor Palpatine's true identity yet. And the former Supreme Chancellor intended to keep it that way, as it would keep the Empire a little more stable for now.

"By your command, my master..." Lord Vader replied obediently, giving his Sith Master a slight bow, after which he turned around, and began to head back inside the large building, off the balcony the assembled delegation accompanied the Emperor.

As the darkly armored Sith Lord made his exit, the Imperial officers nearby swallowed audibly, many of them letting out a quiet sigh of relief, feeling that they could once again relax a bit, as the intimidating servant of the Emperor was no longer in their presence. Lord Sidious took in way too much satisfaction from the fact that his apprentice was striking fear into their subordinates. Everything had worked near perfectly according to his plans.

In the following moments, as Darth Vader made his way to the staging area below, and towards his personal star destroyer, the rest of the Emperor's delegation stayed behind, overlooking the Imperial forces' deployment. The thousands of clone troopers accompanied by heavy weaponry and vehicles boarded the dozens of Acclamator-class assault ships, and the Venator-class star destroyers, many of the ships in the nearby dry-docks undergoing redesigns.

The Emperor had already given the order for the massive Grand Army to go through extensive redesigns, including starships, vehicles and the clone troopers themselves. All of the symbols of the Old Republic and their colors were to be removed, and replaced by the new colors and symbols of the emergent Galactic Empire. Soon, the red and silver colorations of the Venator-class star destroyers would be gone and replaced by the dark and grey colors of the Empire, signifying the coldness and ruthless professionalism of the new Imperial Navy.

Although just having taken power, the Empire was already moving fast in order to solidify its place the sole superpower of the Galaxy, wiping out all competition and keeping its citizens under strict, but fair rule, or at least fair in the Emperor's opinion. Like the totalitarian regimes of the Sith Order in the past, the Empire would either enter an age of peace and prosperity, even if many of its citizens were to face harsh times, or it would only live to see an abrupt end, like so many short-lived Sith "empires" before.

But nevertheless, Darth Sidious had successfully seen the millennia old Grand Plan, first imagined by Darth Bane, to its fruition. The eons long dream of a total Sith victory over their Jedi enemies had finally come true, and it was all thanks to the patient scheming of Sith Lords over the last thousand years. But despite all of their efforts, all the credit would go the man who brought the plan to its completion, and managed to finally bring the Sith back on the top, and doom the Jedi to certain extinction. And that man was Darth Sidious, or as the rest of the Galaxy would continue to know him as; Emperor Palpatine. And if there was one thing that the Dark Lord of the Sith would do, was to make sure that every Sith to come after him would always remember, that it was he who made this all possible.

As the sun finally set below the horizon, darkness began to fall on Coruscant, as darkness had fallen on the entire Galaxy. The shroud of the Dark Side would soon consume everything on its path, as the dark energy of the Sith would corrupt everything in the Galaxy. Despite many were celebrating the many changes coming their way, some of them even welcomed, the citizens of the former Republic, now turned to the Galactic Empire, were sure to face dark times in the future...


End file.
